Infographic:GT

Too afraid to hear what Chinese media will say? Labeling Chinese media outlets as foreign missions shows the hypocrisy of US "freedom of press." Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

 China will make a justifiable and necessary response to the US decision to designate six more Chinese media as "foreign missions," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Thursday. 

Analysts believe that freedom of the press has nothing to do with the US move, and such a nasty decision by the US is another trick to stir up disputes between the two countries. 

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday said this is the US' latest political crackdown and stigmatization of Chinese media and journalists, and China will make a justifiable and necessary response.

Zhao said that China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the latest US move, saying this is based on the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, which severely damages the reputation and image of the Chinese media, and seriously affects the normal operations of Chinese media. 

"This exposes the hypocrisy of the so-called freedom of the press which the US prides itself on," Zhao said.

Zhao urged the US to immediately correct its mistakes and stop its political repression and unreasonable restrictions on Chinese media.

The US State Department issued on Wednesday (local time) a new order that designates the US operations of Yicai Global, Jiefang Daily, Xinmin Evening News, Social Sciences in China Press, Beijing Review, and Economic Daily as foreign missions.

Experts reached by the Global Times said that it is in China's best interest to keep expressing our position and to decide how to counter it after the election.

Shen Yi, director at the Research Center for Cyberspace Governance of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that China should be rational about strategies that would have little impact on China.

The move follows the February 18 designation of Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network, China Radio International, China Daily Distribution Corporation, and Hai Tian Development USA, and the June 22 designation of China Central Television, China News Service, the People's Daily, and the Global Times as "foreign missions."