Photo: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying

Chinese Foreign Ministry official Hua Chunying met a US embassy representative on Wednesday to make solemn representations over US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's inappropriate remarks on China's handling of the Wall Street Journal case involving an article with a "racist headline," which slandered China's efforts against the coronavirus outbreak.

In the meeting with the US embassy representative, Hua, Director General of Chinese Foreign Ministry's Information Department, also protested against the inappropriate comments by a White House National Security Council spokesperson who threatened to take measures against Chinese media after China announced decisions last week to revoke the press credentials of three WSJ journalists over the Journal's racist headline.  

Hua said that if the US further harasses and restricts Chinese news agencies in the US, China will take further action, according to a statement published on the ministry's official website. 

The WSJ's mistakes are serious and the paper must take the responsibility. Pompeo and other US officials blatantly defended WSJ's wrongdoings under the cover of  freedom of speech, and made irresponsible remarks on China's efforts in fighting against the COVID19 outbreak, which confuses right and wrong and are totally unreasonable, Hua said. 

Threatening to retaliate against Chinese media is unacceptable. In fact, the US side provoked China in the first place and China responded with justifiable defense, Hua said. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday also blasted Pompeo for defending the Wall Street Journal's wrongdoings, saying the Journal's racist headline defaming China is not about freedom of speech and the press, and that anyone with basic morality should oppose and object to such racist practices.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said even the Journal itself admitted its wrongdoing. So why does Mr. Pompeo, brushing off international opinion, keep on "cheering up" the Journal, which makes people wonder if the Wall Street Journal is a proxy of the US Department of State, Zhao said.