The BBC said on Sunday that Chinese police assaulted and detained one of its journalists as he was covering a protest in Shanghai, before later releasing him after several hours, Reuters reported.
"The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai," a spokesperson for the British public service broadcaster said in a statement.
"He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist," the spokesperson added.
Shanghai is one of a number of Chinese cities that has seen protests over stringent COVID restrictions in recent days.
Footage published on social media showed a man whom other journalists identified as Lawrence being arrested by men in police uniforms.
The BBC said it had not been given a credible explanation for Lawrence's detention.
"We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught COVID from the crowd," said the broadcaster.
The protests in China have increased in volume in recent days, and on Sunday the demonstrators could be heard calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.
According to The Associated Press, police using pepper spray drove away demonstrators in Shanghai who called for Xi to step down and an end to one-party rule, but hours later people rallied again in the same spot.
Police again broke up the demonstration, and a reporter saw protesters under arrest being driven away in a bus.