"We have about 300,000 Chinese students in the United States and we welcome that. Last year, I think there were over 100,000 new student visas issued in the United States. Here, unfortunately, we have gone from about 15,000 American students – a decade or so ago – to about 800 now. In fact, we are down to about 300 because of COVID and other reasons,” he said.

The US wants to “rebuild those ties” and have “the most welcoming environment possible” so that our students feel welcome here, just as we want to make sure that Chinese students feel welcome in the United States,” Blinken said.

In February, China denounced “unjustified interrogations” and “harassment” that some Chinese nationals have been subjected to when entering the US to study.

Beijing issued a set of guidelines for students who it said were being harassed upon arrival in the US, urging them to stay “vigilant” and avoid “being misled into participating in espionage activities” against the Asian country.

Blinken defended that student exchanges “are a very important way” to make sure that “misunderstandings and misperceptions” are avoided or to find “ways to improve” when there are “profound differences”.

"President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping are committed to strengthening people-to-people ties, including educational exchanges. One of the things I want to make sure is that in both of our countries, there are younger generations that know each other and, we hope, understand each other,” he stressed.

"That would be the best way to make sure that we are managing our relationship responsibly,” he added.

Blinken will wrap up his official visit to China on Friday in Beijing, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, for talks on the escalating tensions in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The trip comes after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, held talks for the first time since November 2022, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, particularly between China and the Philippines.

It also follows a series of political victories for the US top diplomat on areas of contention between Washington and Beijing, including the Senate’s approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as forcing the Chinese-owned parent company of TikTok to sell the short-form video platform.

Still, the fact that Blinken is making the trip is seen by analysts as a sign that both sides are willing to discuss their differences.

The bill sets aside $8 billion in military support for Taiwan and other measures to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific and gives Chinese company ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if the sale is in progress.

Read Also: Blinken pede esforços em prol de "maior estabilidade" nas relações China (Portuguese version)