China to retaliate if Chinese journalists in US are forced out

(Reuters): China will take retaliatory measures should all Chinese journalists based in the United States be forced to leave the country, including targeting US journalists in Hong Kong, Global Times Editor in Chief Hu Xijin said on Tuesday (Aug 4).

“Given that the US side hasn’t renewed visas of Chinese journalists, the Chinese side has prepared for the worst scenario that all Chinese journalists have to leave the US,” Hu said in a statement on Twitter.

“If that’s the case, the Chinese side will retaliate, including targeting US journalists based in Hong Kong.”

The Global Times newspaper is published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party.

The United States limited visas for Chinese journalists in the country to 90 days, with an option for extension, effective May 11.

It was not immediately clear how many Chinese journalists have been affected or how many may be required to leave if their visas are not extended.

The two countries have already exchanged several tit-for-tat actions involving journalists in recent months, with the US designating multiple Chinese state or Communist Party-backed media as foreign embassies.

China has also expelled US journalists for three US newspapers – New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post – this year and has threatened to match any further actions by the US against Chinese journalists.