Stop politicizing media’s role: FM

China welcomes fair, objective reports by foreign outlets

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday called on countries to provide convenience for media organizations, rather than setting up obstacles or even politicizing the related issues.

The remarks, made by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a routine press conference on Wednesday, came after media reports that the US ordered Chinese media to register as foreign agents.

The US Department of Justice ordered two Chinese State-run media organizations, the Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network (CGTN), to register as foreign agents, amid US efforts to combat foreign influence operations and toughen its stance on a variety of China policies, the US Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

“Media serve as an important bridge for people worldwide to enhance communication, and countries should view the media’s role in boosting international exchange and cooperation based on the principle of openness and inclusiveness,” Geng said.

When asked about whether China would consider any responses to the US move, Geng said that China welcomes foreign media to conduct fair and objective reports on China and would like to support foreign media’s normal reporting.

“China and the US has communicated on this issue and the US knows about China’s attitude,” Geng said.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University’s Institute of International Relations, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the move is the latest issue the US has stirred up as its tough stance towards China following the trade issue.

“The US move again highlighted that the US treats China as a strong strategic rival in the security field,” Li said.

Registering as foreign agents indicated that Chinese media interview activities in the US would be restricted, as some US institutions and government organizations may reject their normal interviews in the name of national security, Li said.

In March, three US lawmakers proposed that Confucius Institutes in the US should be registered as foreign agents, Reuters reported.

“The ultimate consequence of such moves is restricting exchange and communication between China and the US, which violates the US values of pursuing freedom and complicates the Sino-US relations,” Li said.