U.S., China jointly ease media restrictions

The two countries announced the relaxed measures for each other’s press workers amid an ongoing effort to ease tensions. The government-run China Daily newspaper on Wednesday said it reached the deal ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping.

What does the agreement include? The United States will grant multiple-entry visas to Chinese media workers, and China will reciprocate by granting equal treatment to American journalists. Both countries will also increase the visa length for journalists to one year, provided they are eligible under existing laws. The countries did not mention if the deal includes Hong Kong, where a crackdown on pro-democracy protests has added pressure on journalists. Last year, the United States cut back 20 visas issued to Chinese state media workers and required those remaining to register as foreign agents because of China’s crackdown on free speech. China retaliated by expelling several U.S. journalists and increasing restrictions on others who remained. The State Department welcomed the progress as “initial steps.”

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report on the arrest of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong entrepreneur behind the territory’s Apple Daily newspaper.