US, China agree to reduce restrictions on journalists

The US and China have agreed to reduce restrictions and facilitate in visas for each others’ journalists.

The agreement comes after the virtual talks between President Biden and Jinping on Tuesday. Journalists from the US will now be allowed to enter and depart more freely in China under the new agreement.

Chinese journalists from state-controlled media organizations will also be able to enter and move freely in the US.

Journalists from both countries will be able to get visas of up to three months to a year under the new agreement. Only however, if they are eligible under applicable laws.

A State Department spokesperson has called the move as “progress.”

“Foreign missions”

The US had classified Chinese state-owned media organizations as “foreign missions” in February 2020.

“Foreign missions” are required to seek approval before buying a property and are required to give an updated list of all staffers working for the organization.

China criticized the move (obviously), and in its trademark way called the classification dangerous and to have been “politically motivated.” In retaliation, it expelled 13 American journalists from the country in March 2020.

As China is under the control of the CCP, any sort of dissent, or reasonable questioning is considered as treason.

All media organizations in China are controlled by the state and are under surveillance through its propaganda machine Global Times.

The move to allow Chinese “news” organizations to once again buy properties in the US is concerning, as China has always ended up buying large swathes of land in other countries only to further its interests and dump the properties to damage the host country’s economy.

Who does this benefit?

In short: China

The move is seen as a win for China as we are likely to see a large number of independent journalists getting restricted access into China, or not allowed inside at all.

Chinese state-controlled “journalists” however, will be able to roam freely inside the US while the organizations they would be working for will be able to buy land.

The state-controlled Chinese would soon be standing in front of areas of interest and speaking in Chinese to make it difficult for locals to know what they are saying.

What they are likely to say it how “grateful they are to have a motherland like China which gives them technology,” and how the “US is dangerous because of racism, crime,” and is “nothing in front of the great superpower China,” led by their “harmonious, glorious, pious, amazing leader” Jinping… (Yeah… Something of that sort).

The move is also good for state-controlled Chinese as they would get an opportunity to get bonus “social credit points” for spreading propaganda and furthering the Chinese interests and patriotism.

Not only are the Chinese “journalists” controlled, they are also encouraged through credit schemes where their public profile would gain points, and they would be able to get discounts, better dating matchups, indicating how good they are to the public, etc.

The next few years will show how good this agreement was for real journalists and Chinese state-controlled “journalists.”

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