The Trump administration will "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students," Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday in another blow to international students and higher education institutions across the United States. The top US diplomat said the State Department would work with the Department of Homeland Security on the revocations, which will target Chinese students, "including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." "We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong," he said. Rubio's comments come as the administration takes steps that could deter international students from studying at universities in the United States. CNN reported Tuesday that the State Department hasordered embassies to pause new student visa appointmentsas it moves to expand social media vetting, and last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students. A federal judge laterhalted the move.Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the administrationis "absolutely" considering targeting other universities. The announcement is the latest in a widening rupture between two superpowers, whosedeep educational ties are being reshapedby a growing geopolitical rivalry that has fueled anongoing trade and tech war China was the top source of international students in the US for 15 straight years since 2009, before it was surpassed by India just last year, according to figures from Open Doors, a US Department of State-backed database tracking international student enrollment. Along the way, US-China educational ties have cultivated close relationships between Chinese and American academics and institutions, while US universities and industry are widely seen to have benefited from their ability to attract top talent from China, and elsewhere, to their halls. But those ties have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as the US began to see an increasingly assertive and powerful China as a technological rival and a threat to its own superpower status. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN's Simone McCarthy contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com
