Editor's note: Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On July 7, the Trump administration via the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new rule pertaining to student visas which places their validity on whether a university is engaging in classroom teaching or not. The rule demands that for colleges which are continuing to pursue online courses, international students at such universities must leave the United States or risk deportation.

The move is a clear part of Trump's pressure tactics to force universities into reopening as part of his post lockdown agenda, dismissive of the COVID-19 spiraling out of control throughout the United States.

The move has aroused anger from potential students all over the world. Within China, the move is seen as to be deliberately targeting Chinese students, who represent the largest constituency of international students within the United States. As reported by Bloomberg, the announcement caused widespread anger on Weibo, which by yesterday afternoon posts setting out the rules had gained almost 55 million views.

The report observed that "many aimed their anger at the U.S. president", including one commenter who said Donald Trump's biggest contribution was "boosting Chinese people's patriotism and eradicating all the friendliness and hope for America" while another stated "The pandemic has already made the U.S. unsafe enough, and Trump just made the environment for international students even worse" with students instead seeking to leave the country and pursue their degrees at home.

The United States has had the privilege for many years now of hosting over 300,000 Chinese students annually and growing. Seeking the dream of studying in a country like America, which has cultivated their hopes and imaginations from a young age, such international students pour in an estimated 13 billion U.S. dollars to the U.S economy annually through tuition fees, rent and other forms of spending. On the surface of such, it seems illogical to assume that the arrangement could not be beneficial to America.

Yet that is not how it is being portrayed. America is being deceived by an administration which misleadingly and dishonestly depicts every aspect of relations with China as a zero-sum game at America's expense.

The Trump presidency has whipped up unprecedented levels of sinophobia and irrational paranoia on Cold War lines against Chinese people which have falsely portrayed them as spies, infiltrators and detrimental to America's prosperity, despite their contributions.

In doing so, the COVID-19 has unleashed a tidal wave of anti-China impulses from the White House which has seen Chinese students targeted on a visa level, with the administration seeking not to only restrict their intake under the dubious premise of "Links to the Communist Party" but also quite clearly with this move, shoehorn them out of the country and treat them with a profound lack of dignity.

In doing so, along with its all other anti-China moves, Trump is losing the hearts and minds of a generation of young Chinese people who once looked to the United States as a source of inspiration.

There is no question from this that the White House is severely damaging the credibility and reputability of America as a place to study and broaden ones horizons. The hard-earned cash of Chinese families who invest in the future of their children will no longer pour into the United States, but will simply go elsewhere.

Far from depicting China misleadingly as a threat to American prosperity, universities will suffer, research will suffer and top talent from the country will less so see it as a place for their career dreams as they are marginalized and demonized as spies and technology thieves.

In the long run, this vicious tide of McCarthyism, paranoia and xenophobia cannot benefit America. We see before us a country that is ultimately turning backwards and in on itself, a country that was once a leader but increasingly acts as a loser. It cannot keep its edge in technology, innovation and talent by ironically alienating a bloc and demographic which has been instrumental to American institutions in consolidating that position.

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