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China orders US consulate in Chengdu to close as tensions rise China orders US consulate in Chengdu to close as tensions rise
(about 2 hours later)
Move by Beijing comes in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston earlier this week and amid worsening relations between the countriesMove by Beijing comes in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston earlier this week and amid worsening relations between the countries
Beijing has ordered the closure of a US consulate in southwestern China, deepening tensions and escalating the rivalry between the two countries to a new level. Beijing has ordered the closure of a US consulate in southwestern China, in a move that escalates tensions between the two countries to a new level.
On Friday, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a notice on its website that it had ordered the US consulate in Chengdu in Sichuan province to stop all operations. The statement said the US had been notified that China had revoked the consulate’s permit to operate. On Friday, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said it ordered the US consulate in Chengdu, in Sichuan province, to stop all operations. A notice on the ministry’s website said authorities had notified the US of China’s decision to revoke its consent for the consulate to operate.
The closure comes after the US gave the Chinese consulate in Houston 72 hours to close, prompting embassy workers to burn documents in a courtyard. On Friday, Beijing said the consulate closure in Chengdu was a “legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable actions of the United States.” Beijing described the measure as a “legitimate and necessary response” to the US, which earlier this week gave the Chinese consulate in Houston 72 hours to close. The US said the decision was to protect “American intellectual property and private information” without giving further details. As Chinese embassy staff burned documents in a courtyard, China vowed to retaliate against the decision which it called an “unprecedented” and “outrageous” escalation.
“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,” it said, urging the US to withdraw its decision regarding the closure of the Chinese mission in the US.“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,” it said, urging the US to withdraw its decision regarding the closure of the Chinese mission in the US.
More soon … By closing the consulate in Chengdu rather than bigger or more crucial consulates in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Guangzhou, Beijing appears to have retaliated with some restraint.
The consulate, which overseas China’s southwest including the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, also includes the sensitive Tibetan Autonomous region where authorities have banned diplomats and foreign journalists from entering.
It was also the site of one of the most dramatic moments in Chinese politics of the last decade when the police chief of the city of Chongqing fled to the Chengdu consulate seeking help, after falling out with Chonqqing party chief Bo Xilai.
China’s ministry of foreign affairs did not give a deadline for when the consulate must close. Opened in 1985, it has more than 200 employees of which about 150 are locally hired Chinese staff.
Analysts say the Chinese leadership has found itself increasingly boxed in by growing opposition within the international community, the result of US lobbying as well as more aggressive controversial measures by Beijing.
Soon after the announcement, China’s state broadcaster hosted a live-stream of the consulate’s front gate. While there appeared to be little movement, more than 12 million internet users tuned in to watch. Many signalled their support of the closure – with one internet user calling for the mission to be renovated and turned a hot pot restaurant. But some criticised the measure. “Confrontation is not good, it affects the economy. It affects everyone,” one user said.
The closure came less than a day after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo called for “free nations” of the world to help change China’s political system.
“Today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else,” Pompeo said, speaking at the Richard Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, California on Thursday. “If the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will change us,” he said.
On Thursday, the US charged four Chinese researchers, accusing them of lying about ties to China’s military. Three of them have been arrested while one has taken refuge in China’s consulate in San Francisco.