China claims its image is 'seriously tarnished' by American journalists and is retaliating against them

• China announced it would take "reciprocal countermeasures" against American journalists working in the country.
• China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday released a statement ordering American journalists working for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post to return their media credentials.
• "It's no surprise that a free press - particularly one that reports on China's terrible response to the Wuhan coronavirus - has threatened the CCP enough to be expelled from their shores," Sen. Tom Cotton told Insider.
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China announced it would take "reciprocal countermeasures" against American journalists working in the country in yet another escalation of tensions between the two countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday released a statement ordering American journalists working for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post to return their media credentials - effectively disallowing them from reporting the news in China and Hong Kong.

The ministry claimed its decision to further regulate US journalists was predicated on the US's actions against its own journalists, which included "slashing the staff size of Chinese media outlets in the US, which is expulsion in all but name."

"In recent years, the US government has placed unwarranted restrictions on Chinese media agencies and personnel in the US, purposely made things difficult for their normal reporting assignments, and subjected them to growing discrimination and politically-motivated oppression," the ministry said in its statement.

Chinese media companies, which are heavily regulated and censored by the government, have several bureaus working in the US. In February, the Trump administration designated five of those state-run organizations as "foreign embassies," which requires them to register their assets with the US State Department.

The decision was based on China's strict, "draconian" control over its news, and the propensity for the country to spread propaganda, State Department officials said to Reuters.

"The control over both the content and editorial control have only strengthened over the course of Xi Jinping's term in power," one official reportedly said. "These guys are in fact arms of the CCP's (Chinese Community Party's) propaganda apparatus."

China, where the epicenter of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to roil markets, has long been accused by Washington of promoting pro-Chinese messaging, instead of objectively reporting its news. When the coronavirus first began spreading beyond its borders, the government clamped down on the information on social media channels.

Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Wuhan-based doctor who first sounded the alarm on the coronavirus, was forced to sign a letter admitting he had made "false statements." Li died of the coronavirus at the Wuhan Central Hospital, where he worked, in early February.

Lawmakers criticized China's recent decision to curb the reporting from the country.

"The Chinese Communist Party stays in power through its state propaganda outlets and restricting access to information," Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said in a statement to Insider.

"It's no surprise that a free press - particularly one that reports on China's terrible response to the Wuhan coronavirus - has threatened the CCP enough to be expelled from their shores," Cotton added.

Tension between the two countries escalated after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested without evidence that the US Army "brought the epidemic to Wuhan."

"When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals," Zhao questioned on Twitter.

"Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation," Zhao added in his tweet.

Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, was summoned to the US State Department last week, after Zhao's posted his tweets. Based on Beijing's tone; however, the country appeared unfazed.

"The above-mentioned measures are entirely necessary and reciprocal countermeasures that China is compelled to take in response to the unreasonable oppression the Chinese media organizations experience in the US," the ministry's statement continued. "They are legitimate and justified self-defense in every sense."

"Should the US choose to go further down the wrong path, it could expect more countermeasures from China," the ministry added.