U.S. crackdown on Confucius Institutes demonises the program, says China

[August 14, 2020]    BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. crackdown on Confucius Institutes demonises and stigmatises the normal functioning of the program, China's foreign ministry said on Friday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

The Institutes have been observing local laws, and China deplores the move, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing.

The United States said on Thursday it was requiring the center that manages the Chinese government-funded Institutes in the United States to register as a foreign mission.

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; editing by John Stonestreet)

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