Us-china media row

Rift looks set to widen after ‘propaganda outlets’ decision

THE United States has changed the status of four more Chinese state media organisations, denouncing them as propaganda outlets and renewing a feud with Beijing.

The State Department said on Monday it was reclassifying China Central Television, the China News Service, the People’s Daily and the Global Times as foreign missions rather than media outlets in the

US, adding to five others designated in February.

All nine outlets “are effectively controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of China”, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

The state-run news organisations will be required to report details on their Us-based staff and real estate transactions to the State Department.

“These four outlets are not media outlets; they are propaganda outlets,” David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for East Asia, said.

He declined to say if the four outlets would be asked to reduce their Us-based staff – action taken against the five organisations that were earlier designated.

The announcement was further evidence that a closeddoor meeting last week in Hawaii between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi did little to ease tensions.

Mr Pompeo said later he considered China a “rogue” player and he was “very frank” in expressing his concerns to Mr Yang, including over Beijing’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and its proposed security law in Hong Kong.

After the US ordered outlets designated foreign missions in February to cut by nearly half the Chinese nationals working for them, Beijing hit back by expelling US citizens working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Beijing said at the time it was taking reciprocal action against the “oppression” of its reporters.