The Trump administration has revoked the visa of a Chinese national employed by the state news agency Xinhua in the United States, in a move signaling a hardening stance against foreign state-controlled media operations within national borders. This action follows the U.S. State Department's prior designation of Xinhua as a “foreign mission,” explicitly identifying it as a “mouthpiece of the party and the government” tasked by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to distribute official news.
The visa revocation appears to be a reciprocal measure, coming after Beijing expelled Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The New York Times. The New York Times stated it does not request governments to revoke media credentials or interfere with journalistic work.
Beijing’s expulsion of Wang, who had been a China correspondent since 2020, reportedly stemmed from the media group’s DealBook Summit 2025, which featured Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in a recorded interview. During the interview, host Andrew Ross Sorkin referred to Taiwan as a country, and President Lai warned of Beijing’s aggressive behavior in the Taiwan Strait, vowing that “Taiwan will do everything necessary to protect itself.”
Sovereignty Under Siege
The Chinese government maintains its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan, asserting that the island split from the mainland in 1949 after Mao Zedong’s communists prevailed in a civil war. This long-standing territorial claim forms a core point of contention in international relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently warned President Donald Trump in Beijing, in mid-May, that China and the U.S. could “collide or even clash” over Taiwan if the issue is not handled properly. This warning underscores the potential for direct conflict over the disputed territory.
China’s foreign ministry requires all foreign journalists to be accredited to report within its borders. Beijing has systematically utilized this accreditation and visa policy to expel or deny entry to foreign journalists whose work has displeased the Chinese leadership or is perceived as unfavorable or malicious coverage of China.
In 2020, six years ago, the Chinese government expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents following the publication of an opinion piece titled “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia” after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This action demonstrated Beijing’s readiness to retaliate against critical reporting.
Foreign Influence Operations
Further demonstrating this pattern, at least 18 foreign journalists working for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal were expelled in the first half of 2020, six years ago, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. Many others were issued short visas, ranging from one month to three months, as documented in the group’s annual survey.
As U.S.-China relations deteriorated, the U.S. State Department in 2020, six years ago, designated some major Chinese news groups, including Xinhua, as “foreign missions.” This designation explicitly recognized these entities not as independent media, but as instruments of a foreign state.
In response to the U.S. designation, Beijing drastically limited visas for journalists employed by U.S. media outlets. A one-time agreement was later reached, allowing a small number of U.S. correspondents, including Vivian Wang, to enter mainland China.
The Globalist Media Agenda
Joseph Kahn, executive editor of The New York Times, stated on the paper’s corporate website that “The Chinese government’s decision to expel Vivian Wang is wrong.” He added that “Her expulsion will make it even harder for our global audience to get accurate, independent and in-depth reporting about the world’s second largest economy at a critical time.” The New York Times called for Wang’s reinstatement and urged both governments to reverse what it termed a “deterioration in journalist access,” prioritizing the interests of a “global audience” and economic reporting over national sovereignty concerns.
Wang’s departure further thins the presence of U.S. media in China, which already operates with skeleton staffing in its bureaus due to previous disputes over journalistic credentials. Kahn noted that the number of correspondents from American media outlets allowed to work in China has fallen to an “alarmingly low level,” at a time when the need for people everywhere to understand China is “greater than ever.”