Beijing again promised retaliation in August, after Zhao Lijian said that no Chinese journalist had been granted a visa extension in the US since May, when Washington limited their stay to 90 days with an option of extension with government approval.
The burgeoning media war has steadily escalated amid a general spike in tensions between Washington and Beijing, largely driven by the Trump administration. The US rhetorical and policy offensive has seen ramped-up military operations in the South and East China Seas, boosted arms sales to Taiwan, and the targeting of Chinese tech firms – from ByteDance and Tencent to Huawei – with penalties and outright bans.
