During a joint President Obama, Chinese President Xi press conference, "The New York Times' " Mark Landler asked the Chinese leader about the U.S. pivot to Asia and about his country's refusal to grant residence permits for U.S. journalists working in China. Chinese President Xi Jinping responded with a lecture saying, "Media outlets need to obey China’s laws and regulations," before blaming everything on the media.
Lander first asked about China's reaction to the U.S. Asia pivot and then questioned China's treatment of the foreign press:
On a parochial issue -- several news organizations from the United States have had issues with residency permits in China being denied, including The New York Times. I’m wondering in the spirit of these reciprocal visa arrangements that you’ve agreed to this week with business people and students, isn’t it time to extend that sort of right to foreign correspondents who seek to cover your country?
The NY Times reporter explained what happened next:
After first taking an unrelated question from a Chinese state-run newspaper — appearing to draw a bemused reaction from Mr. Obama — Mr. Xi circled back, declaring that the visa problems of news organizations, including The Times, were of their own making. He evinced little patience for the foreign news media’s concerns that they were being penalized for unfavorable news coverage of Chinese leaders and their families.
Mr. Xi said that China protected the rights of media organizations, but that the organizations needed to abide by the rules of the country. “When a certain issue is raised as a problem, there must be a reason,” he said, apparently acknowledging a link between news coverage and the refusal to extend the visas.
Mr. Xi used a Chinese metaphor to describe the travails of The Times and other organizations, saying they were like a faulty car. “When a car breaks down on the road, perhaps we need to step down and see what the problem is,” he said.
In a passage that was not translated into English, the president added that “the Chinese say, ‘Let he who tied the bell on the tiger take it off'” — a saying that can also be translated as, “The one who created the problem should be the one who solves it.”
