The New York Times And Bloomberg Face Banishment From China

AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan

U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned Chinese President Xi Jinping that there would be repercussions if U.S. foreign correspondents are forced from the country for reporting certain stories, Mark Landler of The New York Times reports.

Despite this, the unprecedented prospect of China-based reporters for American media outlets being kicked out of the country may soon be a reality, as Landler reports:

The Chinese government has held up visa renewals for roughly two dozen correspondents from The Times and Bloomberg after the news organizations published investigative articles about the wealth of the families of top Chinese leaders. With their visas expiring by the end of 2013, the reporters will be forced to leave China - the first in about two weeks.

The crackdown came in the wake of this October 2012 story by The Times -The English- and Chinese-language websites of The Times have been blocked in China since it was published - and Bloomberg's "Rags to Riches" investigation. China blocked Bloomberg's English-language website after the first story was published in June 2012.

On Thursday Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China manages issues concerning foreign journalists "in accordance with laws and regulations."