A Chinese student, who was planning to study in America, was denied a visa because his father works for the police.
The letter from the United States embassy informing the student of the refusal said visa issuance for senior Chinese officials employed by four intelligence and law enforcement departments, as well as their spouses and children, had been suspended, South China Morning Post reported.
According to the education company, the student's father is a low-level officer.
The Chinese foreign ministry has called the development a good proof" that the United States had disrupted normal personnel exchanges between the two countries for political reasons, which was not conducive to good China-US relations.
"In accordance with the US logic, should China deny visas to US intelligence and law enforcement personnel and their families?" Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday, adding that China hoped the US would recognise its mistakes and help allow normal personnel exchanges.
The letter was posted on WeChat by Beijing Gewai Education Consulting on Thursday morning, showing that the visa application had been "temporarily discontinued" under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
It said China had denied or unreasonably delayed accepting the return of its citizens who were subject to final orders of removal from the United States, and that normal visa issuance would resume if China complied with US requests on that matter.
In recent years, the US has introduced policies making it more difficult for Chinese nationals with STEM backgrounds to live and work in the United States, and stepped up restrictive visa policies.
More than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers had visas revoked following a ruling last May aimed at Chinese nationals suspected of having ties to the military.
( With inputs from ANI )
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