Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has urged Washington to secure the legitimate rights and interests of United States-based Chinese journalists, warning that the US "is the source of the press issue between China and the US".

Recently, the US State Department claimed that the US cannot accept the continued lack of reciprocity for US media in China, alleging that China has long imposed onerous restrictions on foreign journalists operating in China, including those working at US media organizations.

"Since the US side talked about reciprocity, reciprocity is exactly China's concern," Mao told reporters on Wednesday at a daily news conference in Beijing.

She cited a three-point consensus reached by China and the US in 2021.

Mao noted that since the two sides reached the consensus, China "has fully implemented it, providing various conveniences such as visas for US journalists to come to China to report".

"Meanwhile, the legitimate reporting rights of Chinese journalists in the US have been severely restricted," she said.

Mao noted that "hardly any Chinese journalists have been granted opportunities for in-person interviews at the White House", and their visa and residence permit applications have been frequently delayed without cause, forcing a number of them to return home.

"Applications by Chinese journalists for short-term reporting trips to the US have rarely been approved," Mao said. "Is this what they called reciprocal?"

Mao pointed out that while the US advocates for freedom of speech, Chinese media outlets in the US have been labeled with political tags such as "foreign agents" and "foreign missions".

"Is this what the US calls freedom of speech? The US should take concrete actions to implement the consensus reached by both sides and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese journalists in their regular work and daily lives in the US," she said.

Recently, Beijing deported one of the journalists with the New York Times.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday that the New York Times journalist had a track record of deceiving people into unknowingly taking interviews, and her residence permit "was thus revoked as dictated by laws and regulations".

Lin also stated China's firm opposition as the US side, out of so-called "reciprocity", is engaged in political suppression against journalists from Xinhua News Agency working legally in the US.