China is increasingly cracking down on the work of foreign journalists, according to a survey published on Monday. China’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCCC) said its annual survey had showed for the third year in a row that not a single journalist believed their working conditions had improved.

Instead, Chinese authorities had dramatically intensified their efforts to thwart the work of foreign reporters, the FCCC said.

All available means have been employed to intimidate and harass journalists, it added, with travel restrictions in connection with the coronavirus pandemic being used as a pretext to further restrict the work of foreign journalists or to deny them entry altogether.

Journalists from countries with tense relations with China have especially felt the pressure of the authorities, the survey showed.

In the largest wave of expulsions since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, at least 18 journalists from three U.S. media outlets were forced to leave the country in the first half of 2020.

Two Australian correspondents also left after being targeted by Chinese security authorities.

The FCCC said it was very disappointed that media freedoms in China had again deteriorated significantly in 2020.

With regards to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the FCCC called on the Chinese government to let foreign journalists do their work without restrictions.

China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the report as baseless and pointed out that the FCCC was not officially recognised in China.

“What we reject is ideological bias against China and ‘fake news’ in the name of freedom of the press,’’ the ministry explained. (dpa/NAN)