A monthslong war of words between the United States and China escalated Monday after the Chinese government threatened to limit severely American reporters’ ability to travel to and work in China as retaliation for the Trump administration’s restrictions on Chinese journalists.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters on Monday the U.S. decision to stop issuing open-ended, extendable visas to Chinese reporters suppressed the Chinese media. The new U.S. policy was announced by the Department of Homeland Security Friday in what U.S. officials also described as a response to China’s “suppression of independent journalism.”
The U.S. policy takes effect Monday and only allows Chinese media to receive a 90-day visa, which can be renewed.
The threat by Beijing is the latest move in a chess game between both countries, which have publicly fought for months over China’s handling of the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan. President Trump called it “the Chinese virus” during White House press briefings this spring, angering Chinese officials. Trump has accused China of not alerting other nations early on during its outbreak, while China said he was trying to deflect attention from his own response.
In one of the first punches, the U.S. in February deemed five Chinese state-run news outlets “foreign missions.” Beijing responded by removing two American reporters and an Australian reporter from the Wall Street Journal.
The State Department in March mandated staffing cuts to the five U.S.-based Chinese “foreign missions.” China, in turn, expelled more American journalists.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said 90-day visas for Chinese reporters could not be renewed. That was changed to reflect that the status can be renewed.
