Journalism, mutual understanding suffer in tit-for-tat expulsions

By Zhang Tengjun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/3/18 21:53:42

Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT



China announced Wednesday that it would take countermeasures against the US for placing unwarranted restrictions on Chinese media agencies and personnel in the US. Beijing's measures, including demanding US nationals working for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to return their press accreditation within 10 days, if their credentials expire before the end of 2020, are in retaliation for a number of US actions to crack down on Chinese media.

Washington has long suppressed China's mainstream media outlets in the US - even more so since President Donald Trump took office - and the US media continues to politicize its reporting on China. 

Recently, the US designated five Chinese media agencies as "foreign missions" and imposed restrictions on Chinese journalists who have faced roadblocks in obtaining visas, and in their reporting duties. China's latest measures are only reciprocal in nature. 

China is sending a clear signal to the US that the core principle of bilateral ties is mutual respect. When the US fails this simple test inherent in courteous relations, it will encounter countermeasures from China. 

The targeted US media outlets will surely hype the countermoves as China's so-called crackdown on freedom of the press. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that China's moves "further foreclose the world's ability to conduct the free press operations."

It's indeed ironic to see the Trump administration brandish the principle of press freedom, after three years of constant disparaging the mainstream media in the US. The White House often revokes the press credentials of American journalists or bans them from attending its press conferences. Isn't this a violation of press freedom? The pinnacle of a double standard has the Trump administration seeking only favorable reporting on itself.

The US needs to understand that China's moves are in retaliation for US suppression of Chinese media's freedom of the press. As the West still controls much of the international discourse and US negative reporting on China has been increasing, China finds itself in a relatively disadvantaged position. 

If we look at the state of current international opinion, we see the Trump administration deliberately fanning the flames of anti-China sentiment. Trump has labelled the novel coronavirus the "Chinese virus" in a shameless attempt to undermine China's successful efforts in containing the spread of COVID-19. 

China cannot just stand still, or it will find itself in a more passive position.

Many foreign media, especially in the US, hold deep-seated prejudice and bias against China, and their blinkered reporting has generated adverse public opinion against China. China's measures against some US media will not jeopardize the normal information dissemination as they are claiming.

The media war between China and the US has become part of the rivalry between the two countries. Over the past few years, the engagement between Beijing and Washington has changed enormously, and one of the notable changes is the fundamental shift of the US' China policy. The Trump administration views China as a strategic competitor and its China policy is all-round suppression of China, including not only by detrimental economic and political means, but also restricting exchanges at the public level. 

The media has unavoidably become a victim of this fallout. No matter what their editorial stance, their room for reporting is being squeezed. This will affect the objective reporting and understanding of each other, which in turn intensifies the already abundant conflicts between China and the US. 

This is the biggest challenge China-US relations face and the crux of the problem lies on the US side. If the US cannot give way on its ideological prejudice against China and its strategic intention to suppress China, the trajectory China-US ties can hardly be steered in a proper direction.

The ball is now in the US court. If the US further escalates the media war, China will fight back and impose additional reciprocal countermeasures. China will not take the lead in stirring up tensions, but it by no means will concede in face of US provocations. The US should have learned this lesson from the trade war it launched against China. 

The author is an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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