Beijing Responds to Trump’s Media Cuts, Calling U.S. Outlets “Notorious” for Coverage on China
Beijing on Tuesday weighed in on US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding for major media outlets, including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio Free Europe, calling them “notorious” for their reporting on China.
The move, part of a broader effort to slash federal government spending, has sparked a wave of reactions internationally.
Last week, Trump signed an order halting funding to these outlets, which have long provided critical reporting in regions with restricted press freedoms, including China and North Korea.
RFA, in particular, has been vocal in its coverage of highly sensitive issues like human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, subjects often censored in China’s tightly controlled media environment.
When asked about Trump’s decision, China’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment directly on the US government’s internal policies. However, spokesperson Mao Ning made it clear that “some of the US media outlets mentioned have a notorious track record in reporting on China.”
The nationalist state-run Global Times newspaper went even further, labeling VOA a “lie factory.” In a scathing editorial, it claimed, “The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag.” It added, “The demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times.”
This rhetoric comes as China continues to criticize Western media for its “biased” coverage, particularly regarding the country’s human rights record.
The Chinese government heavily restricts its domestic press, suppressing independent reporting on thorny issues like ethnic discrimination in Xinjiang, the crackdown on activists in Hong Kong, and the treatment of Tibetan Buddhists.
RFA and VOA’s reports, often in Tibetan, Uyghur, Mandarin, and Cantonese, are largely unavailable to Chinese citizens through domestic media channels and face heavy censorship online.
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s long-time autocratic leader, Hun Sen, praised Trump’s decision, hailing it as a bold step in “combating fake news” by targeting US-funded outlets. Known for his authoritarian rule, which included shutting down independent media, Hun Sen has frequently been a subject of critical coverage from RFA and VOA.
The US-China media dispute escalated in 2020, when Beijing ordered several US outlets, including VOA, to disclose detailed information about their staff, finances, and operations in China.
This tit-for-tat action resulted in the expulsion of more than a dozen journalists working for US media.
As the media war between Washington and Beijing intensifies, the global scrutiny of these outlets, and the sensitive stories they cover, continues to grow.
