China’s cyberspace regulator published an updated list on Wednesday of internet news providers from which other sites can reprint content, omitting Caixin, one of the country’s best-known business publications.
The list of 1,358 news sites arrives amid a regulatory crackdown on a range of industries, including the media sector, which has been subject to increasingly tight controls since President Xi Jinping took office.
The list published by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) contains roughly four times the number of outlets included in the last such list in 2016, and includes more public and social media accounts, the CAC noted in its announcement.
However, Caixin – included on the 2016 list as a recognised outlet – is missing from the 2021 list.
Caixin declined to comment.
Founded in 2009 by editor Hu Shuli, Caixin earned a reputation as one of China’s most dogged investigative journalism outlets, regularly reported on corruption and pollution, and was a widely read news source when the COVID-19 virus first emerged in Wuhan.
In its notice, the CAC stated that internet news services that reprint news information must follow the latest version of the list. Outlets that do not abide by the rules will face punishment.
This month China’s state planner said it was halting the investment of “non-public” capital into a variety of publishing activities, including live broadcasts, news-gathering, editing and broadcasting entities and the operation of news.
Non-public capital cannot be involved in the introduction of news released by overseas entities or summits and award selection activities in the field of news and public opinion, the NDRC added.
