U.S. Designates Five Chinese Media Outlets As Foreign Missions

The U.S. State Department says it's designating five Chinese media outlets as foreign missions because of their ties to the Chinese government. 

Under the Foreign Missions Act, the designation means that the U.S. government has identified the outlets as being either "substantially owned or effectively controlled by a foreign government." The act regulates the activities of foreign missions in the U.S. to protect national security.

The State Department is asking the outlets to identify their personnel in the U.S., including American citizens, and provide basic information about those individuals. The department also wants the outlets to provide information about their real estate holdings.

The State Department says this move comes as the Chinese government has expanded overseas media operations, including in the U.S. 

Following this announcement Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry says it's canceling the visas of three reporters from The Wall Street Journal over a headline it says was racist. The headline was part of an opinion piece regarding the coronavirus outbreak at the beginning of February.