According to the State Department, more than 1,000 visas have been revoked since it began implementing the proclamation on June 1

The US State Department on Wednesday said that the country revoked visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers under an order by President Donald Trump that accused some of them of espionage. 

After tensions with Beijing rose on several fronts, Trump, in a May 29 proclamation, declared that some Chinese nationals officially in the United States for study have stolen intellectual property and helped modernize China's military.

According to the State Department, more than 1,000 visas have been revoked since it began implementing the proclamation on June 1.

"The high-risk graduate students and research scholars made ineligible under this proclamation represent a small subset of the total number of Chinese students and scholars coming to the United States," a State Department spokeswoman said.

"We continue to welcome legitimate students and scholars from China who do not further the Chinese Communist Party's goals of military dominance," she said.

Citing privacy laws, the department declined to give details of people whose visas have been revoked. 

In the 2018/19 session, nearly 370,000 students from China were enrolled at US universities. These were the most of any country, offering a lucrative source of income to institutions that are now facing growing pressure from the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to some Asian American activists, Trump's orders are creating a climate of suspicion on campuses, with students of Asian descent facing unfounded questions about their intentions. However, the American officials say that there has been a rise of espionage cases involving China in recent years.

The officials accuse China of seeking to steal university research into COVID-19, a reason cited for the Trump administration's closing China's consulate in Houston in June.