Politics

China orders closure of US consulate in Chengdu city

Beijing, Jul 24 (efe-epa) .- China demanded Friday that the United States close its consulate in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu in retaliation for the recent closing order of the Chinese diplomatic office in the city of Houston, Texas.

“This countermeasure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified action by the United States to close our consulate in Houston. The relationship between the two countries is not what China would like, but Washington is responsible for it,” the Ministry announced today. of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

The move comes after the United States forced China to close its consulate in Houston amid fresh spying charges, one of the most aggressive actions Washington has taken since it established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, his response is “in line with international law, the basic rules that govern international relations and diplomatic practices” since, in his eyes, the action that Washington took broke all these rules.

As a consequence, the Ministry informed the United States Embassy on the morning of the 24th of its decision to “revoke consent for the establishment and implementation of the American Consulate in Chengdu -capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan,” and demanded “the cessation of all its operations and events”.

“We again ask the United States to retract its erroneous decision and create the necessary conditions to return relations to the path of normality,” the statement added.

On Thursday, China denied that its consulate in Houston, Texas, had stolen intellectual property or information from US companies, and advanced “retaliation” for the closure of the diplomatic office amid new accusations of espionage by the US.

Washington gave Beijing 72 hours on Wednesday to close its consulate in Houston to “protect American intellectual property and the private information of its citizens.”

“These allegations are malicious and their sole objective is to defame China. The closure of the consulate is a completely unjustified measure, and China reserves the right to retaliate,” said Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin yesterday.

Underlying the differences between the two powers is the underlying struggle for hegemony, the technological and trade war and, more recently, the US criticism of the new security law for Hong Kong and the situation in Xinjiang. EFE-EPA

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