Editorial | US and China need to respect important role of foreign media
- Tit-for-tat expulsions of journalists contribute to increased tensions between both countries and create further divisions at a time when people should be kept fully informed
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and with a trade and technology war in full flight, their work is invaluable in enhancing mutual trust between governments and informing overseas audiences. But the measures were in response to actions taken by Washington against Chinese news agencies, leading to the likelihood that this is far from being the end of the matter.
A foreign ministry spokesman said as much, warning that “if the US continues on the wrong track, China will be forced to take further countermeasures”.
The journalists, believed to number 13, were from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post; in an unprecedented move, they were also specifically barred from reporting from Hong Kong and Macau.
Beijing portrayed the move as retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s administration last month imposing a cap on the number of Chinese citizens working for China’s five main state-owned media outlets in America and their designation as “foreign missions”. In response to the latter, China expelled three reporters from The Wall Street Journal.
Not since the normalisation of relations 40 years ago have there been expulsions of foreign correspondents on such a scale. The measures are reminiscent of the depths of the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union.