China's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) announced on Tuesday that it would audit the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), the Australian China Chamber of Commerce (Austcham China) and over 200 other groups as part of an effort to check on social organizations in the country.

A total of 250 organizations, most of which are Chinese associations, were randomly selected for the audit, which is expected to last through August 2019, the MCA said in a statement on its website.

The selected organizations will be checked in various areas, including their financials, regulation compliance and other activities. For example, inspectors will also check if the theme and content of events hosted by the organizations were in line with its charter rules and areas of business. 

The MCA said it has hired 10 accounting firms to conduct the audit.

The efforts were aimed at further strengthening oversight and management of social organizations, regulate their behavior and boost the sound and orderly development of social organizations, the ministry said in a statement.

Though the ministry maintains that the organizations were selected randomly, the inclusion of AmCham China and Austcham China could draw widespread attention amid the China-US trade war and tensions between China and Australia.

AmCham China and Austcham China appeared at the top of the list released by the MCA, though the list did not appear to follow any particular order.

AmCham China, which represents many US companies operating in China, has also drawn criticism from Chinese officials and analysts for what many called a biased view of the business condition in the Chinese market.

After AmCham China released a white paper policy report in mid-April, in which it repeated long-held criticism of China's market access and other issues, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce urged the group to evaluate China's market access and business conditions "more fully, objectively and fairly."