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BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese citizens received the highest number of U.S. visas on record last year as China's economic power expanded, a U.S. Embassy official said Friday.

The number of U.S. visas granted to Chinese had fallen sharply with tighter security screening after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, but rebounded in the following years.

Last year, the United States issued 304,374 nonimmigrant visas to Chinese tourists, students and others, a 29 percent increase over 2004, said Michael Regan, the U.S. consul general in charge of visas.

Chinese citizens ''have more and more legitimate reasons both to travel for business and tourism, and (as) students,'' Regan said in an interview.

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