China's public security minister urged the U.S. Homeland Security minister to end alleged
"harassment"
of Chinese students entering the United States, during a meeting between the two men in Vienna, according to state media Beijing State Monday.
In a report of Sunday's talks between Wang Xiaohong and Alejandro Mayorkas, Beijing urged Washington to
"stop harassing and controlling Chinese students for no apparent reason
," the national Xinhua news agency said.
Beijing has repeatedly claimed that Chinese nationals with valid travel documents have faced aggressive questioning and expulsions at U.S. airports.
Last month, Beijing's embassy in Washington recommended Chinese travelers avoid Washington-Dulles International Airport.
During his meeting with Mayorkas, Wang urged the United States to
"ensure that Chinese citizens receive fair treatment upon entry and full dignity
," according to the agency.
Fentanyl trade
Wang also pressed Mayorkas to
“rectify”
the U.S. decision to place China on the list of major narcotics transit or production countries.
US authorities accuse China of being complicit in the trade in fentanyl, which is far more potent than heroin and is responsible for more than 70,000 overdose deaths a year in the United States.
Last month in Beijing, U.S. and Chinese authorities agreed to cooperate to reduce production of ingredients needed to make fentanyl.
A U.S. account of Sunday's talks says Wang and Mayorkas had
"a frank and constructive discussion about the measures needed to combat the spread of precursor chemicals"
to fentanyl.
“The two sides also made commitments regarding continued law enforcement cooperation, bilateral technical exchanges between scientists and other experts, programming of precursor chemicals and strengthening multilateral cooperation,” according
to the document.
Washington and Beijing also discussed expanding cooperation
“in the fight to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse
,” the statement added.