US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said on Monday that the designation was a response to actions by Beijing. According to Stilwell, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has full editorial control over the four news entities, and they will have to inform the State Department of their personnel rosters and real estate holdings as a consequence of the designation.
The move follows a similar designation given to the Chinese news outlets Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television (CGTN), China Radio International, China Daily, and Hai Tian Development USA in February.
"These nine entities all meet the definition of a foreign mission under the Foreign Missions Act, which is to say that they are 'substantially owned or effectively controlled' by a foreign government," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a Monday statement. "This designation recognizes PRC [People's Republic of China] propaganda outlets as foreign missions and increases transparency relating to the CCP and PRC government's media activities in the United States."
"Entities designated as foreign missions must adhere to certain administrative requirements that also apply to foreign embassies and consulates in the United States," Ortagus added.
In March, the Trump administration imposed strict limits on staff sizes for Chinese media outlets operating in the US, reducing them from 160 to 100. In response, Beijing revoked the accreditations of American correspondents with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.