Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying on Monday said that China is glad to continue its "excellent cooperation with U.S. journalists if Chinese journalists are treated fairly in the United States."

Hua made the remarks on her personal Twitter account after CNN reported that Chinese authorities have imposed new visa restrictions on foreign journalists working for U.S. news organizations in China amid growing bilateral tensions.

CNN journalist and a few other U.S. journalists' visa extension applications are being processed, during which they can continue to live and work here with no problems at all, said Hua.

China has made it very clear to U.S. journalists in Beijing, she stressed.

Later the day at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed to reporters that these applications are in progress and are not so-called countermeasures claimed by the U.S. side.

Zhao said that China has refrained from taking any countermeasures so far despite the U.S.' increasing political suppression on Chinese journalists as China always wants to solve the disputes based on equity and mutual respect.

In February, the Trump administration said it would begin treating five major Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations like foreign embassies, requiring them to register their employees and U.S. properties with the State Department.

In March, the U.S. slashed the number of Chinese journalists allowed to work at the U.S. offices of Chinese media from 160 to 100.

The spokesperson pointed out that the U.S. has insidiously expelled 60 Chinese journalists based in the country. And in May, it also significantly shortened Chinese journalists' visa to no more than three months.

Because of the new rule, these Chinese journalists' visas all expired in early August. 

While Chinese journalists have submitted their applications for visa extension as required, none of them has been granted the extension by the U.S. side yet, causing huge uncertainty in their life and work in the country, Zhao said.

During negotiations between the two sides, he said the U.S. not only ignored reasonable requests by the Chinese side but also maximized pressure on the Chinese side with the matter of Chinese journalists' visa extension applications.

China's not buying it, he said. 

He urged the U.S. side to respond to China's request, especially on the issue of the visa extension applications, Zhao said. If the U.S. continues its wrong path, China will be forced to take retaliatory measures. 

(Cover: Journalist attend the daily press briefing of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, China, March 18, 2020. /Reuters)