The Trump administration has revoked the US visa of a Chinese journalist working for state-run news agency Xinhua, in a move widely viewed as a response to Beijing’s expulsion of a New York Times correspondent earlier this year.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the journalist’s visa had been cancelled. The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions surrounding visa-related issues. A US State Department official also confirmed that plans were in place to revoke the visa.
The decision follows China’s expulsion of New York Times correspondent Vivian Wang in February, a case that was widely linked to the newspaper’s DealBook Summit event featuring Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, despite Wang not being involved in the programme.
The move represents one of the relatively uncommon occasions on which Washington has directly responded to Beijing’s removal of an American journalist with reciprocal action.
New York Times calls for restoration of access
The New York Times, which first reported the visa revocation, said it opposes government interference in journalists’ work and press credentials.
In a statement issued on 29 May, the newspaper called for Wang’s reinstatement and urged both governments to restore access for journalists.
“The Chinese government’s decision to expel Vivian Wang is wrong,” executive editor Joseph Kahn said in a statement published on the newspaper’s corporate website.
He argued that the expulsion would further reduce independent reporting on China at a time when global understanding of the country is increasingly important.
China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dispute comes amid a significant decline in the presence of American media organisations operating in China, where ongoing disagreements over journalist visas and accreditation have already reduced staffing levels at several news outlets.
Wang, who had reported from China for the New York Times since 2020, is leaving at a time when the number of American journalists working in the country has already fallen sharply.
“The number of correspondents from American media outlets allowed to work in China has now fallen to an alarmingly low level, at a time when the need for people everywhere to understand China is greater than ever,” Kahn said.
Taiwan issue remains a sensitive flashpoint
Reports surrounding the case indicated that Beijing’s decision followed the New York Times DealBook Summit 2025, which featured a recorded interview with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te conducted by host Andrew Ross Sorkin.
During the discussion, Sorkin referred to Taiwan as a country, while Lai criticised Beijing’s actions in the Taiwan Strait and said Taiwan would take all necessary measures to defend itself.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has consistently opposed any international treatment of the self-governed island as a sovereign state.
Taiwan has governed itself since 1949, when Communist forces led by Mao Zedong won China’s civil war and the defeated Nationalist government retreated to the island.
The Taiwan issue remains one of the most sensitive and contentious areas in relations between Washington and Beijing.
During a summit with President Donald Trump in Beijing earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could cause China and the United States to “collide or even clash”.
The expulsion of Wang has also raised concerns among other Western media organisations that may seek to interview Taiwanese leaders or report on Taiwan-related developments while maintaining access to China.
Long-running disputes over foreign media access
Foreign journalists working in China are required to obtain accreditation from the Chinese foreign ministry.
Beijing has repeatedly used visa and accreditation policies to bar, remove or restrict reporters whose coverage it considers hostile, inaccurate or politically objectionable.
In 2020, China expelled three Wall Street Journal journalists after the newspaper published an opinion article titled ‘China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia’ during the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak.
That same year, as relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorated, the US State Department designated several major Chinese media organisations as “foreign missions”.
Xinhua, which serves as an official news agency of the Chinese state and Communist Party, was among the organisations covered by the designation. China subsequently tightened visa restrictions on American journalists.
According to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, at least 18 journalists from the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal were expelled from China during the first half of 2020. Others were issued visas valid for only one to three months.
The two governments later reached a limited arrangement that allowed a small number of American correspondents to return to mainland China. Wang was among those permitted to resume reporting under that agreement.
