WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the United States on Monday urged U.S. authorities to stop harassing Chinese citizens traveling to the United States.

In recent years, U.S. border control personnel have continuously and unjustifiably harassed, interrogated, and deported Chinese nationals entering the United States, especially students and scholars, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Citing incomplete statistics, the spokesperson said nearly 300 Chinese citizens have been deported by the United States since July 2021, including more than 70 Chinese students with legal and valid documents. Since November 2023 there have been 10 cases of Chinese students being harassed, interrogated and, with their visas canceled, deported at the Washington Dulles Airport alone, the spokesperson added.

Such acts by the U.S. side far exceeded the scope of normal law enforcement and are driven by strong ideological bias, the spokesperson said, adding that they gravely infringe on the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of the persons concerned, disturb normal cross-border travel between China and the United States and run against the common understandings reached by presidents of the two countries on enhancing and facilitating China-U.S. cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

China is gravely concerned about and firmly opposes such moves, and has made solemn demarches to the U.S. side, the spokesperson said.

On April 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden on the phone. The two presidents reiterated the need to take further steps to expand people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the spokesperson said.

China urges the United States to stop harassing Chinese nationals traveling to the United States under the pretext of national security, stop undermining public support for China-U.S. relations, and stop obstructing friendly interactions between the two peoples, the spokesperson said. Enditem

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