China has asked the United States to end the "unwarranted harassment" of its students, following renewed reports of interrogation and deportation at a key US airport.
The call from Wang Xiaohong, China's public security minister, came during a meeting with his US counterpart Alejandro Mayorkas in Vienna on drug control and related law enforcement cooperation. Both sides described Sunday's talks as "candid" and "constructive".
According to state news agency Xinhua, Wang urged the US "to stop harassing and interrogating Chinese students for no reason, and ensure that Chinese citizens enjoy fair entry treatment and full dignity".
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He also said Washington should "lift visa restrictions on relevant Chinese institutions and personnel", Xinhua reported.
Wang's statement came some three weeks after China lodged a formal protest against the US for allegedly blocking Chinese students at the border.
The meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas was part of renewed bilateral engagement following an ice-breaking summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco in November.
Xinhua reported earlier this month that at least 11 Chinese students had been deported or had their visas cancelled on arrival since that summit.
Eight of those cases took place at Washington Dulles International Airport, with some students detained for more than 10 hours and barred from contacting anyone during that time, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy.
Washington should "take practical and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic and consular institutions and personnel in the US", Wang told Mayorkas.
In January, the Chinese foreign ministry said that "tens" of Chinese nationals were being denied entry to the US each month.
This included Chinese students with valid papers, who had been subjected to "politically motivated" law enforcement, involving "abusive suppression and persecution, frequent interrogations, detentions, forced confessions, inducements and even deportations", a ministry spokesman said.
Wang's remarks on the treatment received by Chinese nationals at US borders were not mentioned in the Department of Homeland Security's readout of the meeting, which focused on cooperation with Beijing in the fight against the fentanyl crisis.