BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston, both countries said on Wednesday, deepening a deterioration in bilateral relations, and a source said Beijing was considering shutting down the U.S. consulate in Wuhan.
Washington had “abruptly demanded” closure of the Houston consulate on Tuesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, and the editor of an official media outlet said on Twitter that China had been given 72 hours to do so.
Beijing condemned the order and threatened retaliation, but did not say what measures it might take.
Late on Tuesday in Houston, local media reported that documents had been burned in a courtyard at the consulate building. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the consulate was operating normally, declining to comment further on those reports.
Ties between the United States and China have worsened sharply this year over a range of issues, from the novel coronavirus and telecoms gear maker Huawei to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong.
The U.S. Department of State confirmed the Houston closure decision.
The move was made “in order to protect American intellectual property and American’s private information”, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
“The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior,” she added, using an acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
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