The White House on Wednesday warned China over new restrictions on news outlets, calling any efforts to curb the free flow of information "incompatible" with building a modern economy.
"We would view any attempt to restrict the free flow of information with great concern and as incompatible with China's aspirations to build a modern, information-based economy," said national security spokesman Frederick Jones.
Xinhua news agency, the mouthpiece of China's communist regime, issued regulations Sunday requiring domestic subscribers to foreign news agencies to register through the agency, which can also censor all news coming into China.
"We are concerned about the annnouncement by China's official news agency about new regulations concerning the distribution of information in China by foreign media organizations," said Jones.
"Freedom of the press is a fundamental and internationally acknowleged right, as well as a right recognized in China's constitution," Jones said by telephone.
"We understand that foreign media organizations are studying these new rules to assess their impact, as are we," the spokesman said.
