US-China media dispute: US revokes Xinhua visa after China expels New York Times reporter

The Trump administration has withdrawn the US visa of a Chinese national employed by Xinhua. The move appeared to answer China’s decision to expel a New York Times reporter. A person familiar with the case confirmed the visa was revoked. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter involves visa privacy.

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A State Department official also confirmed there was a plan to revoke the visa. The action followed Beijing’s removal of Vivian Wang, a China correspondent for The New York Times. It was a rare case of the US government directly responding to China’s expulsion of American journalists. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US visa revocation and New York Times reporter Vivian Wang

The Times said it does not ask governments to revoke media credentials. The paper said it also does not seek other interference in journalists’ work. On Friday, the paper called for Wang to regain journalist credentials in China. It also urged both governments to reverse what it described as worsening access for reporters.

"The Chinese government’s decision to expel Vivian Wang is wrong,\" Joseph Kahn, the paper’s executive editor, said in a statement published on the Times corporate website. \"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.\"

Wang is leaving China as US media staffing there is already limited. Earlier disputes over credentials had already reduced many China bureaus. Several US outlets have kept only small teams in the country. Wang had worked as a China correspondent for the newspaper since 2020.

\"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 wrote.

DealBook Summit 2025, Taiwan, and journalist access in China

Beijing’s decision appeared linked to the DealBook Summit 2025. The event featured Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in a recorded interview. Host Andrew Ross Sorkin conducted the interview. Sorkin called Taiwan a country, and Lai warned of Beijing’s aggressive behaviour in the Taiwan Strait.

The Times said Wang had no role in the DealBook appearance. Lai also said Taiwan would do everything necessary to protect itself. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan. Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 after Mao Zedong’s communists won a civil war.

Taiwan also featured in a mid-May summit in Beijing involving President Donald Trump. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the two countries could collide over Taiwan. Xi said China and the US could even clash if the issue is not handled properly. The expulsion added to wider tensions around reporting in China.

The New York Times case also unsettled other Western media groups. Some outlets may now hesitate to interview Lai. Editors fear that giving Taiwan a voice could risk access in China. Foreign journalists must be accredited by China’s foreign ministry to report inside the country.

Beijing has used visas and accreditation to remove foreign journalists. It has also used these tools to block entry after critical coverage. In 2020, China expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents. The move followed an opinion piece titled China is the Real Sick Man of Asia.

Xinhua, foreign missions, and US-China journalist visa disputes

As relations deteriorated, the US State Department in 2020 labelled some Chinese news groups as foreign missions. Xinhua was among those named. Xinhua is tasked by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to serve as its mouthpiece. The organisation also distributes official news for the party and government.

Beijing later sharply restricted visas for journalists at US media outlets. At least 18 foreign journalists at The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal were expelled in early 2020. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China reported those figures. Many others received one- to three-month visas, the club’s survey said.

The two governments later reached a one-time deal. It allowed US media to send a small number of correspondents back to mainland China. Wang was among those who returned under that arrangement. The latest visa revocation involving a Xinhua employee added to the pattern of mutual actions affecting reporters.

With inputs from PTI