The US considers the four Chinese state-run media as an entity affiliated to the embassy, a move that could put more strain on Beijing.

The four Chinese media outlets considered by the US government to be "foreign missions" include Chinese central television station CCTV, China News Service, a member of the State Council Office of the State Council of China, People's Daily and

"The Chinese government does not run the activities of these propaganda agencies, but has full control over the content," said Assistant Stilwell.

The Chinese Embassy has not commented on this information.

According to US Department of State officials, this rule makes the US branch of the four media outlets considered part of the Chinese embassy enforce diplomatic laws like declaring employee information.

Any employee fluctuations of these agencies must also be reported to the US government.

The US State Department in February made a similar decision with five Chinese media outlets including Xinhua news agency, China Global Television Network (CGTN), China International Radio (China Radio),

A month later, Washington announced a reduction in the number of Chinese state-run media correspondents from 160 to 100. China responded by announcing deportation of resident journalists working for New York.

US-China relations are at their lowest levels in years when President Donald Trump acted tough with Beijing before the race to the White House later this year.