Bloomberg reporter barred from Chinese press conference

British authorities have protested to Chinese authorities about a “completely inappropriate” decision to bar a Bloomberg journalist from a press conference in Beijing with David Cameron and his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, reports Nicholas Watt of The Guardian.

Watt writes, “No 10 raised ‘deep concerns’ on two occasions with Chinese officials after the foreign ministry excluded Robert Hutton, a political journalist with the US wire service Bloomberg, from the event at the Great Hall of the People on Monday.

“British officials in Beijing informed Hutton, a member of the British parliamentary lobby who is accompanying the prime minister to China, that he would not be admitted to the press conference.

“Hutton was informed of the decision by an official on a bus ride from Beijing airport after the prime minister’s overnight flight from London. The official said: ‘We have been told by the Chinese authorities that it would not be appropriate for you to attend.’

“The Bloomberg website is blocked in China after it ran stories about the wealth of families of senior leaders, including relatives of the president, Xi Jinping. Bloomberg last month denied killing a similar sensitive story after a New York Times report that said editors had been concerned its ability to report from China would be compromised if it ran the piece. Bloomberg said the article was still in preparation.”

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