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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5544 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5544

  To reduce the number of student visas available to nationals of the 
People's Republic of China until China removes certain restrictions on 
United States students pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities 
in China and to restrict the types of postsecondary study available to 
Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive topics with 
                potential dual-use military application.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Ricketts) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To reduce the number of student visas available to nationals of the 
People's Republic of China until China removes certain restrictions on 
United States students pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities 
in China and to restrict the types of postsecondary study available to 
Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive topics with 
                potential dual-use military application.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Reciprocity on Chinese 
Students Act'' or the ``PRC Students Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) American students in the People's Republic of China 
        (referred in this section as the ``PRC'') face internal travel 
        restrictions, censorship, and a growing threat of arrest or 
        detention via exit bans and an expanded espionage law.
            (2) These restrictions and other threats have caused a 
        cooling effect on the matriculation of United States students 
        in Chinese universities, which has been compounded by anti-
        western sentiment.
            (3) There are currently fewer than 1,000 United States 
        students studying in China, while there are an estimated 
        290,000 Chinese students studying in the United States.
            (4) The PRC has--
                    (A) heightened surveillance and political controls 
                on university campuses;
                    (B) intensified internet censorship;
                    (C) fortified its firewall, which blocks Google, 
                Facebook, and other United States social media 
                platforms; and
                    (D) subjected students to biometric scanning to 
                enter universities.
            (5) Additional restrictions imposed by the PRC include--
                    (A) state censorship on topics deemed sensitive;
                    (B) an ongoing campaign against ``western values'';
                    (C) democratic backsliding;
                    (D) strict data protection laws; and
                    (E) restrictive access to state archives.
            (6) Foreign students inside the PRC are required to 
        register with local authorities when undertaking internal 
        travel and certain areas in China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet, 
        cannot be accessed by foreign students without required travel 
        permits that must be obtained through an internal government-
        registered operator.
            (7) American students are explicitly restricted from 
        attending--
                    (A) the 2 universities that are directly 
                administered by the PRC's Central Military Commission, 
                the National Defense University and the National 
                University of Defense Technology;
                    (B) any of the PRC's military academies; and
                    (C) any other institution of higher education that 
                does not appear on the China Scholarship Council's list 
                of approved universities.
            (8) The PRC has used ``exit bans'' to stop some foreigners 
        from leaving the country and has engaged in arbitrary 
        detentions.
            (9) The Counterespionage Law of the PRC, which was passed 
        by the National People's Congress on April 26, 2023, expands 
        the definition of espionage from covering state secrets and 
        intelligence to any ``documents, data, materials or items 
        related to national security'', without specifying the 
        parameters for how such terms are defined. The offenses 
        previously covered by privacy provisions under the Criminal Law 
        of the PRC had carried a maximum penalty of 3 years 
        imprisonment, but were not often enforced. Under the new law, 
        such offenses can result in imprisonment for life or the death 
        penalty.
            (10) Chinese students in the United States and in other 
        western countries have been accused of espionage and 
        intelligence collection to bolster the PRC's military base as 
        part of the Chinese Communist Party's Military-Civil Fusion 
        Policy.
            (11) In January 2024, a Chinese student studying at the 
        University of Minnesota crashed a drone in a tree near Langley 
        Air Force base in Hampton, Virginia. After flying to California 
        the following day, the student was arrested and charged with 
        espionage.
            (12) In September 2024, United States prosecutors alleged 
        that 5 Chinese University of Michigan graduates, who claimed to 
        be stargazing, were taking photos in the middle of the night of 
        military vehicles at Camp Grayling during a United States 
        National Guard training exercise that included Taiwanese 
        military personnel.
            (13) According to the Select Committee on the Chinese 
        Communist Party of the House of Representatives, the PRC 
        operates nearly 500 foreign talent programs whose members are 
        contractually obligated to return to the PRC with secrets and 
        expertise gained in foreign universities and labs in order to 
        drive military modernization and other technological 
        development in the PRC.
            (14) On October 14, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported 
        that, according to European security officials--
                    (A) Chinese students and guest scientists have 
                become a prime conduit for Chinese espionage in the 
                West;
                    (B) Chinese spies masquerading as researchers have 
                recently grown better at hiding their tracks;
                    (C) some Chinese students enroll in language or 
                literature courses and later switch to quantum 
                computing or other sensitive areas; and
                    (D) the PRC's intelligence-gathering and security 
                operations might comprise up to 600,000 people.
            (15) According to the Australian Strategic Policy 
        Institute, the People's Liberation Army has sponsored more than 
        2,500 military scientists and engineers to study abroad during 
        the most recent 15 years in order to acquire technology needed 
        to modernize the PRC's military.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to introduce reciprocity into the Sino-
American relationship by--
            (1) reducing the number of Chinese students in the United 
        States to match the number of American students in the People's 
        Republic of China as long as PRC restrictions against United 
        States students persist; and
            (2) restricting the types of postsecondary study available 
        to Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive 
        topics with potential dual-use military application.

SEC. 4. GRADUAL REDUCTION OF CHINESE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Section 214(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 
        Secretary of State, beginning in fiscal year 2025, in 
        collaboration with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 
        annually reduce by 50,000 the number of nationals of the 
        People's Republic of China who are authorized to reside in the 
        United States as nonimmigrants under subparagraph (F)(i), 
        (J)(i), or (M)(i) of section 101(a)(15) compared to the number 
        of such aliens so authorized during the previous fiscal year, 
        until the number of such aliens is equal to the number of 
        United States citizens who are enrolled in a postsecondary 
        course of study in the People's Republic of China.
            ``(B) Nationals of the People's Republic of China who are 
        admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants under section 
        101(a)(15)(F)(i) may not be enrolled at a United States 
        institution of higher education in any postsecondary program 
        involving a sensitive topic with potential dual-use military 
        application, including--
                    ``(i) naval architecture;
                    ``(ii) marine engineering;
                    ``(iii) aircraft engineering;
                    ``(iv) artificial intelligence;
                    ``(v) quantum computing; and
                    ``(vi) any other area of study determined by the 
                Secretary of Defense to involve a sensitive topic with 
                potential dual-use military application.
            ``(C)(i) The Secretary of State shall submit a report to 
        Congress as soon as the Secretary determines that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China--
                    ``(I) has lifted internal travel restrictions 
                relating to--
                            ``(aa) the requirement that United States 
                        students register with local authorities when 
                        traveling within China; and
                            ``(bb) the requirement that United States 
                        students obtain internal travel permits and 
                        guided tours to visit certain provinces within 
                        China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet;
                    ``(II) is granting United States students within 
                China access to the internet and Chinese research 
                databases that is commensurate with the access 
                available to the internet and United States research 
                databases by Chinese students in the United States;
                    ``(III) has discontinued threats of exit bans and 
                the arbitrary detention of United States students; and
                    ``(IV) is granting United States students access to 
                all Chinese universities and institutions of higher 
                education.
            ``(ii) Beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year 
        beginning after the date on which the report required under 
        clause (i) is submitted to Congress, the restriction on the 
        admittance of Chinese students described in subparagraph (A) 
        shall cease to have any force or effect.''.
                                 <all>
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