China 'effectively bans' Hillary Clinton's book

China has essentially blocked Hillary Clinton's new memoir, Hard Choices, from distribution across the country.

Clinton's publisher told BuzzFeed that the book, which focuses on her time as the U.S. secretary of state, will not be sold in mainland China. The country sees the memoir as critical of the People's Republic — Clinton wrote that China is "full of contradictions" and is the "epicenter of the antidemocratic movement in Asia."

Simon & Schuster, publisher of the book, said they couldn't secure translation rights with Chinese publishers, and one of China's leading import agencies, Shanghai Book Traders, is also refusing to distribute the English-language version. Hard Choices was also removed from China's Amazon site.

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China's actions are an "effective ban," said Jonathan Karp, president of Simon & Schuster. "It's outrageous and unfortunate, and it's a pretty clear indication of the low level of intellectual freedom in China right now."