The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched a fresh attack on China, claiming that he has reasons to believe that they are interfering in the work of US journalists in Hong Kong.

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Back in 1997, Britain returned Hong Kong to China. Pompeo now is saying that China is interfering in Hong Kong's working.

"These journalists are members of a free press, not propaganda cadres, and their valuable reporting informs Chinese citizens and the world," Pompeo said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the US Secretary of State also had claimed that the State Department was delaying a report to Congress evaluating whether Hong Kong enjoyed enough autonomy from China to continue receiving special treatment from the US.

Pompeo also threatened the Chinese government that their resolution on this matter could affect the US assessment of Hong Kong's autonomy status.

The two nations have had their fair share of back and forth regarding the treatment of journalists.

The Trump administration decided to treat five big Chinese-run media houses the same as foreign embassies earlier this year, needing them to officially register all their employees and U.S. properties with the State Department.

However, this move was retaliated by the Chinese government, who fired two American journalists claiming the reason as an opinion column by Wall Street Journal who called China the "real sick man of Asia".

In March, the US government announced that the number of work visas from 160 to 100 for journalists working at four major Chinese state-owned media.