The United States is designating four Chinese media organizations with operations in the US as foreign missions.
The latest decision by the Trump administration, announced Monday, was expected to lead to a similar reaction from Beijing.
"These entities are not independent news organizations," said David R. Stilwell, the assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific at the state department, adding that they were "substantially owned or effectively controlled" by China.
This is not the first time that US President Donald Trump is taking on the Chinese media.
China Global Television Network, or CGTN, was listed in the first round of designations in February, along with Peoples Daily, Global Times, and China Radio International among others.
Stilwell asserted, however, that the administration has no plans to cut off distribution channels for the news organizations.
On Thursday, Trump said Washington could pursue a "complete decoupling from" Beijing.
Trump first ratcheted up tensions with China over trade, when in 2018, he introduced unusually high tariffs on imports of Chinese goods. China reciprocated, but eventually, trade frictions seemed to have eased when the US president and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a preliminary deal in January this year.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/18828
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