BEIJING - China on Thursday urged the United States to stop bullying and restricting Chinese students in the name of national security, adding the US needs to ensure the security and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the country.

Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a related query.

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Wang said the US has long been wantonly suppressing and ill-treating Chinese students traveling to the US with lawful and valid identifications and visas. Some of the students were interrogated, confined, forced into confession, induced and even deported without just cause. Every month for the past few months, the US deported dozens of Chinese arriving in the US, including students. "This is a clear case of selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this."

China will continue to take necessary measures to resolutely protect Chinese citizens' lawful rights and interests. We also remind Chinese students traveling to the US to be mindful of such risks.

Wang Wenbin, Spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry

He said the US likes to portray itself as open, inclusive and a place for academic freedom, but it wrongly adopted Proclamation 10043 and put it into force, overstretched the concept of national security, politicized and weaponized academic research and repeatedly interrogated, harassed and deported Chinese students.

"Such behavior has seriously undermined the students' lawful rights and interests and poisoned the atmosphere for China-US people-to-people exchanges. It goes against the two Presidents' agreement to promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges and the two peoples' shared desire for more friendly exchanges," said Wang.

China urges the US to act on its commitment to welcoming Chinese students to study in the US, withdraw the unjust Proclamation 10043 and stop bullying and restricting Chinese students in the name of national security, the spokesman said.

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The US needs to ensure the security and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the US and take concrete steps to support and facilitate people-to-people exchanges and cross-border travel between the two countries as it has promised, said Wang.

"China will continue to take necessary measures to resolutely protect Chinese citizens' lawful rights and interests. We also remind Chinese students traveling to the US to be mindful of such risks."