Beijing condemned on Thursday a plan announced by Washington to "aggressively revoke visas of Chinese students", saying such "politically motivated and discriminatory" practice will only further undermine its international image and national credibility.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the remarks after the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the US State Department would work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese government or studying in critical fields.

"The move by the US, under the pretext of ideology and national security, to unreasonably cancel the visas of Chinese students seriously infringes upon their legitimate rights and interests, and disrupts normal people-to-people exchanges between the two countries," Mao told a regular news conference.

Beijing has lodged solemn representations with Washington in this regard, she noted, adding that such politically motivated and discriminatory practice exposes the hypocrisy behind the US' long-touted claims of freedom and openness.