China said on Tuesday that the United States' increasingly restrictive measures imposed on Chinese journalists are "unbearable" while maintaining that its move to expel the U.S. counterparts is "legitimate."
Washington's suppression of Chinese media stems from its blatant discrimination against China and there is no way China would buy it, said Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a regular press conference on Tuesday.
He rejected the speculation that U.S. actions came after China expelled three American journalists from The Wall Street Journal for an article written on the novel coronavirus outbreak in China titled "China Is The Real Sick Man of Asia," while answering a reporter's question.
Geng recounted a list of discriminative actions that Washington has taken to insidiously expel 60 Chinese journalists from the U.S., and the earliest date can be traced back to December 2018 according to the Ministry.
Those measures are not limited to visa application but also administrative review and reporting among other things, said Geng.
Since 2018, there have been more than 30 Chinese journalists who have reported delayed visa issuance process and nine senior foreign correspondents who weren't able to return to the U.S. after holiday break in China, said the spokesperson.
Geng also reiterated that China will continue to welcome and assist foreign media to report in the country as per the law of the land.
