New York Times reporter Austin Ramzy became the latest foreign journalist to be refused a visa by China.

He wasforced to leave the country on Thursday, after the government denied him a journalist work visa.

The decision is likely to further strain relations between China and the United States.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "We have raised our concerns about the treatment of journalists and media organizations repeatedly and at the highest levels with the Chinese government."

Ramzy's departure comes a month after Vice President Joe Biden spoke privately with Chinese leaders in Beijing about the country's treatment of foreign journalists.

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Beijing accused Ramzy of violating Chinese visa regulations, but critics said the decision was in retaliation for the newspaper’s coverage of high-level government corruption. Ramzy's visa troubles began after he moved from Time magazine to The Times last summer.

He boarded a plane for Taiwan on Thursday afternoon. 

Carney said Thursday the US was “deeply concerned” about the ability of foreign journalists to do their jobs in the communist country. 

"Foreign journalists in China continue to face restrictions that impede their ability to do their jobs, including extended delays in processing journalist visas, restrictions on travel to certain locations deemed ‘sensitive’ by Chinese authorities and, in some cases, violence at the hands of local authorities," Carney said.

“These restrictions and treatment are not consistent with freedom of the press — and stand in stark contrast with US treatment of Chinese and other foreign journalists.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China called Beijing's claims that Ramzy had violated Chinese visa regulations “disingenuous.”

“It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the authorities are punishing the New York Times for articles it published concerning Premier Wen Jiabao and his family. Such behavior falls well short of international standards,” the FCCC said in a statement.

Ramzy is far from the first foreign journalist to run into visa troubles. Chris Buckley, who moved from Reuters to The Times, was forced to move to Hong Kong in 2012 after he was denied a visa. Paul Mooney, who has spent 18 years in China, was refused a visa in 2013.

Beijing-based Times reporter Edward Wong tweeted this message as his colleague departed the country: