‘China Press’ Has Deep Ties to the CCP but Isn’t Registered as a Foreign Agent

On the heels of the 1989 bloodshed in Tiananmen Square, U.S.–China relations hit a low point. Official Chinese media outlets suffered such backlash in America that Beijing was burning to find alternative avenues to broadcast its narrative. Then, in New York, China Press was born: a Chinese-language newspaper founded by the late Xie Yining, who made it the outlet’s mission to promote friendlier U.S.–China ties. Mr. Xie had worked as a White House correspondent for China News Service, the second largest Chinese state news agency, which the United States in 2020 designated as a foreign mission. China Press, which maintains an office in Beijing, rose as a valued asset for Beijing with its mainland China-focused coverage, at a time when “China’s voices had virtually no other outlet to spread overseas,” wrote You Jiang, the CEO of China Press, in a 2014 essay outlining the outlet’s expansion plans....