BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - China has removed Caixin Media from an official list of news outlets that can be republished, a move that curtails the influence of one of the nation's most liberal sources of information.
The Cyberspace Administration of China announced an approved list of some 1,300 domestic media outlets, social media accounts and government agencies, banning Internet news providers from using other sources.
The ouster of Caixin - a financial news organisation that has reported on official corruption, pollution issues and public anger at the government - means its articles cannot appear on the Internet platforms such as Sina.com that are popular ways for the Chinese public to consume news.
Outlets were deleted because they "no longer fit the conditions, have poor performance or lack influence", said the Internet watchdog, which updated the list from 2016 and included mobile apps and Weibo and WeChat social media accounts run by official media sources for the first time.
Caixin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China maintains a white-knuckle grip on its media landscape, and blocks many foreign news organisations, including Bloomberg News from the nation's Internet.
Caixin is among the few news outlets in China that criticise government officials for perceived shortcomings.
In 2016, the news organisation described the Cyberspace Administration as "a government censorship organ" in an English-language article that said a story on the Chinese-language version of its website had been deleted.
Ms Hu Shuli, Caixin's founder, told the New York Times in 2005 when she led a different news organisation that she would push the line of what was possible in Chinese journalism but not cross it.
Earlier this month, China proposed barring private capital from news gathering and distribution operations, a move that would weaken its influence versus state media.
Also off-limits would be private investments in the establishment and operation of news outlets, including agencies, newspaper publishers and broadcasters.
Bloomberg News had reported in March that Beijing wants Alibaba Group Holding to sell some of its media assets, including the South China Morning Post.
Alibaba and co-founder Jack Ma had quietly built up a broad portfolio of media assets over the years, spanning online outlets, newspapers, television-production companies, social-media and advertising assets.
