US 'restricts Travel By Communist Party Members'

US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday issued rules to restrict travel to the United States by Chinese Communist Party members and their families, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The policy shift limits the validity of travel visas for party members and families to one month and a single entry, the paper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain US visitor visas of up to 10 years' duration, it said.

The Trump administration has sought to cement the outgoing president's tough-on-China legacy, while relations between the world's two largest economies have sunk to the lowest point in decades.

The move was a part of ongoing action to protect the US from the Chinese Communist Party's "malign influence," the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the US State Department as saying.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beijing and Washington have clashed over China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, its tightening grip on Hong Kong, its disputed claims in the South China Sea, trade and accusations of human rights crimes in Xinjiang.

Last week, the US was reportedly poised to add China's top chipmaker SMIC and national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, curbing their access to US investors.

The new visa guidelines allow American officials to determine someone's party status based on their application and interview, the paper reported. (Reuters)