China has banned the broadcast of the BBC World News a week after Chinese media outlet CGTN had its license withdrawn by Ofcom, the UK regulator.

CGTN is the multi-language arm of predominant Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

The apparent retaliatory move was announced by the Chinese National Radio and Television Administration on Feb. 12.

It said that its coverage of China did not fulfil requirements that news reporting must be "true and impartial", and that it undermined China's national interests and "ethnic solidarity".

According to AP, a representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Ofcom had acted on political and ideological grounds, and China has the right to protect the interests of Chinese media.

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the move an "unacceptable curtailing" of media freedom, and warned that it would damage China's reputation.

Broadcasts of the BBC in China are generally not available to the wider public, mostly limited to some hotels, businesses and foreign residential compounds.

Ofcom withdrawal

Back on Feb. 4, Ofcom announced that CGTN did not qualify for a license under its requirements, which state that license-holders cannot be controlled by political bodies.

It added that its investigation found that Star China Media Limited, the company that holds the license, is not responsible for the editorial content of CGTN. It added:

"In addition, we have been unable to grant an application to transfer the licence to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation (CGTNC).

This is because crucial information was missing from the application, and because we consider that CGTNC would be disqualified from holding a licence, as it is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party."

According to CNN, Beijing has previously expressed frustration with the BBC over its reporting on camps for the Uighur people in Xinjiang, Western China.

The reports allege that women are raped, sexually abused and tortured within these camps.

China denies the allegations and accused the BBC of spreading "explicit falsehoods" about Chinese policy in Xinjiang.

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