It broadcasts forced confessions to American audiences. It avoids subjects that displease Beijing. It cuts away when wind musses the hair of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

China Global Television Network America, which reaches 30 million households in the United States, is an arm of China’s propaganda machine. It is controlled by the Communist Party and serves as part of what Mr. Xi has called Beijing’s “publicity front.”

But when the American authorities asked about those ties, CGTN America argued that the Chinese government doesn’t tell it what to broadcast.

That contention, made last month in a filing with the United States Department of Justice, may not get a warm reception in Washington. In the wake of Russian influence in the 2016 election, American officials are trying to get a clearer picture of efforts by China and other countries to build influence in the United States. The claim by CGTN America, an overtly state-owned organization, represents a direct challenge to that effort.