在北京舉行峰會期間，奧巴馬總統和中國國家主席習近平就放寬對商人、學生和游客簽証限制達成多項協議。
然而，在新聞發布會上，當習近平被問到是否會為外國記者提供同樣的待遇時，他表現得很不耐煩。外國記者在過去一段時間內一直很難獲得在中國工作的許可。
習近平一開始似乎沒有理會《紐約時報》記者馬克·蘭德勒(Mark Landler)的問題，但後來又回到了這個問題，他說，“一輛車如果拋錨，我們都要下車檢查哪兒出了毛病。”這個比喻可能有點拐彎抹角，但傳遞的訊息非常清楚：他在提醒外國新聞機構，後者的麻煩是自找的﹔他們正在因為有不利影響或引發爭議的報道遭受懲罰，並且可以通過改變這種做法來解決這個問題。
在時報刊登了有關中國政治精英財富的報道之後，中國政府在過去的兩年裡一直拒絕為新的時報駐華記者處理簽証，並試圖對中國國內的民眾屏蔽時報的英文和中文網站。
時報從不打算為了迎合任何政府的要求而變更自己的報道——不論是中國、美國還是其他任何國家。任何有信譽的新聞機構都不會這樣做。從發布“五角大樓文件”(Pentagon
Papers)到調查政府的秘密竊聽項目，時報有著把矛頭對准美國政府的悠久歷史。
時報的承諾對象是那些讀者——他們期待、也理應獲得關於時事以及那些影響世界的人物的全面且最為真實的討論。
擁有13億人口、同時還是僅次於美國的世界第二大經濟體的中國，是一支地區性和國際性的重要力量，並理應得到嚴肅的新聞報道。時報將繼續給予中國及中國公民誠實的報道和關注。習近平曾宣稱中國保障媒體權利。要求記者為迎合政府改變報道內容，只是保護了權貴和那些有不可告人之處的人。一個自信的、認為自己是世界領袖的政權，應該具備應對真實的審視和批判的能力。
《紐約時報》評論部
During their summit meeting in Beijing,
President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China made much of their agreement
to ease visa restrictions for businessmen, students and tourists.
Yet when Mr. Xi was asked at a news
conference if he would do the same for foreign journalists, who have had a hard
time obtaining permission to work in China, he displayed little patience with
such concerns.
After first appearing to ignore the question
from Mark Landler, a reporter from The Times, Mr. Xi circled back to the issue
and advised that “when a car breaks down on the road, perhaps we need to step
down and see what the problem is.” The metaphor may have been oblique, but the
message was clear: He was warning foreign news organizations that their
troubles are self-inflicted; they are being penalized for unfavorable or
controversial news coverage and could correct the problem by changing that
approach.
The Chinese government has regularly declined
to process visas for any new resident Times journalist and has sought to block
access to the newspaper’s English-language and Chinese-language websites for
people inside China over the past two years after news reports were published
by The Times on the wealth of
China’s political elite.
The Times has no intention of
altering its coverage to meet the demands of any government — be it that of
China, the United States or any other nation. Nor would any credible news
organization. The Times has a long history of taking on the American government,
from the publication of the Pentagon Papers to investigations of secret
government eavesdropping.
The Times’s commitment is to its readers who
expect, and rightly deserve, the fullest, most truthful discussion of events
and people shaping the world.
China, with 1.3 billion people and the world’s second-largest
economy after the United States, is a major force regionally and
internationally and merits serious coverage. The Times will continue to give
the country and its citizens honest reporting and attention. Mr. Xi claimed
that China protects the rights of media organizations. Demanding that
journalists tailor their coverage to suit the state only protects the powerful
and those with something to hide. A confident regime that considers itself a
world leader should be able to handle truthful examination and criticism.