China has ordered that the United States consulate in Chengdu, China, be closed days after the United States announced the forced closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas.
Ties between the two countries have dipped as both nations fall out over the Covid-19 pandemic, trade, treatment of muslims and racial minorities in Xianjing, security law in Hong Kong and US relationship with Taiwan.
A recent statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that US diplomats in China had been notified that Beijing was revoking the license for the Chengdu consulate in southwest China, which has been ordered to “stop all business and activities.”
The statement also revealed that the US had “unilaterally provoked the incident” by commanding the closure of the Houston office, an action Beijing said “seriously violated international law and the basic norms of international relations.”
The Foreign Ministry said: “The current situation between China and the United States is something China does not want to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the United States.
“We once again urge the US to immediately revoke the erroneous decision to create necessary conditions for the return of bilateral relations to normal.”
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, said on Twitter that the order was “a legitimate and necessary response to the unilateral provocative move by the US to demand the closure of China’s Consulate General in Houston.”