WASHINGTON—The Trump administration said on Feb. 18 it will begin treating five major Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies, requiring them to register their employees and U.S. properties with the State Department.
Two senior State Department officials said the decision was made because the Chinese regime has been tightening state control over its media, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made more aggressive use of them to spread pro-Beijing propaganda.
