This file photo shows Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a regular press conference on March 5, 2020, in Beijing, China. (PHOTO COURTESY OF FOREIGN MINISTRY OF THE PRC)

BEIJING - China on Tuesday urged the United States to halt and correct wrongdoings that "harm others without benefiting itself" after Washington labeled four Chinese media outlets "foreign missions."

The US decision is another example of its political suppression of Chinese media 

Zhao Lijian, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a US decision to designate four Chinese media outlets in the United States - China Central Television, China News Service, People's Daily and Global Times -- as "foreign missions."

"The US decision is another example of its political suppression of Chinese media," said Zhao, adding that this move will severely disrupt the reporting activities of the Chinese media outlets in United States and exposes US hypocrisy over so-called freedoms of press and speech. 

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China strongly urges the United States to discard Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, said Zhao, adding that otherwise, China will have to take necessary and legitimate countermeasures. 

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