China on Wednesday said it has revoked the press cards of three Wall Street Journal reporters in Beijing, decrying an editorial headline published earlier this month by the US newspaper as racist.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the op-ed -- which was titled "China is the Real Sick Man of Asia" -- had a "racially discriminatory" and "sensational" headline and slammed the WSJ for not issuing an official apology.

"As such, China has decided that from today, the press cards of three Wall Street Journal reporters in Beijing will be revoked," Geng said in a press briefing.?