By Staff, Agencies

The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed on Tuesday the latest move by the US administration to limit the number of US-based employees at several major Chinese news organizations as a "Cold War mindset."

The ministry's official, Zhao Lijian, added that the US move has caused a serious negative impact on bilateral relations and that Beijing reserves the right to respond.

The day before, a senior State Department official said that under the new restrictions, China’s state media entities will have to reduce their Chinese personnel in the United States to 100.

The move affects five entities the US designated as foreign missions last month – Xinhua News Agency; China Global Television Network which falls under China Central Television, CCTV; China Radio International; China Daily Distribution Corporation; and Hai Tian Development USA.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated earlier that the penalty came in response to China’s restrictions on Americans journalists. Last month, China revoked press credentials of three Wall Street Journal [WSJ] journalists over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry called a "racially discriminatory" article.