China on Friday demanded the United States reverse its new visa restrictions and warned of countermeasures, after the Trump administration announced rules capping foreign journalists' stays at 240 days and Chinese nationals' at just 90 days.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the regulations seriously violate three media-related consensuses reached between Beijing and Washington in 2021, calling them discriminatory. Beijing reserves the right to take corresponding retaliatory steps if the rules are not withdrawn, the ministry said.
The Department of Homeland Security's final rule, proposed in August 2025, replaces the open-ended "duration of status" system with fixed admission periods. The U.S. government cited a rising number of foreign journalists as complicating monitoring and oversight. The rule takes effect 60 days after its Federal Register publication and remains subject to congressional review.