China warns of countermeasures over Trump administration’s move against media outlets

Chinese officials warned of retribution Tuesday in response to the Trump administration’s decision to designate four more media outlets as agents of China’s government.

A spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. of suppressing Chinese media companies and carrying a “Cold War mentality” towards China, The Associated Press reported.

“We strongly urge the United States to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, and immediately stop and correct this wrong practice that serves no one’s interest. Otherwise China will have to make the necessary legitimate response,” spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

Monday’s announcement, Lijian added, was “yet another example of the U.S.’s flagrant political suppression of the Chinese media.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the new designations via Twitter on Monday afternoon, calling for “greater transparency” for Chinese state-run organizations in the U.S. The Trump administration has hammered China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak which is believed to have originated in China’s Wuhan province.

“In order to ensure greater transparency of CCP-run operations in the United States, I directed the designation of four additional PRC propaganda outlets as foreign missions,” Pompeo tweeted.

In order to ensure greater transparency of CCP-run operations in the United States, I directed the designation of four additional PRC propaganda outlets as foreign missions.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 22, 2020

This latest move by the Trump administration affects the designations of China Central Television, China News Service, the People’s Daily and the Global Times, according to a State Department spokeswoman who told The Hill that future restrictions on Chinese organizations could be implemented.

“Over the past decade and particularly under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s tenure, the [Chinese Communist Party] has reorganized China’s state propaganda outlets disguised as news agencies and asserted even more direct control over them,” the spokeswoman said.