China on Tuesday threatened retaliatory action against the U.S. if officials do not renew the visas of Chinese journalists who may be forced out of the country when their current visas expire.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said during a press briefing that none of the current Chinese journalists in the U.S. had been granted an extension for their current visas. They were last renewed on May 11, but it had put a cap on their stay to 90 days.
“The U.S. has been escalating its actions against Chinese journalists,” Mr. Wang said, as quoted by Reuters. “The U.S. should immediately correct its mistake and stop its actions.”
“If the U.S. persists, China will take a necessary and legitimate response to safeguard its rights.”
Hu Xijin, the editor of China’s state-run Global Times, said in a tweet Monday evening that China “has prepared for the worst scenario that all Chinese journalists have to leave the US.”
“If that’s the case, Chinese side will retaliate, including targeting US journalists based in HK,” he said.
Mr. Hu said the current visas of Chinese journalists will expire on Thursday.
The situation adds to rising tensions between the two global economic powerhouses that have clashed in recent years over trade, human rights, Taiwan and security across East Asia.
In March, the U.S. decreased how many Chinese nationals that are authorized to work in the U.S. by 60. One-hundred Chinese nationals are currently allowed to work at the U.S. offices of top Chinese media outlets, Reuters reported.
China this year banned three U.S. journalists from The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and vowed to mirror any additional action Washington takes against Chinese journalists.❑
