White House 'deeply' concerned about China law on foreign NGOs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday the United States is "deeply concerned" that China's new law on management of the activities of foreign non-governmental organisations will narrow the space for civil society in China. China's parliament passed a law governing foreign NGOs, state news agency Xinhua reported. The law is part of a raft of legislation, including China's counterterrorism law, put forward amid a new push to crack down on dissent by President Xi Jinping's administration. The White House urged China to respect the rights and freedoms of human rights defenders, journalists, business groups, and others, "including by protecting the ability of foreign NGO's to operate in China," Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, editing by G Crosse and Alistair Bell)