International
China orders closure of US consulate in Chengdu in tit-for-tat action
Authorities in China have ordered the closure of the United States consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu, in retaliation against Washington shutting down the Chinese consulate in the city of Houston, days ago.
In a statement on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that the Chengdu mission’s closure was a “legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable measures by the United States.
“The current situation in China-US relations is not what China desires to see,” it said in a statement, adding that “the US is responsible for all this”.
“We once again urge the United States to immediately retract its wrong decision and create necessary conditions for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track.”
READ ALSO: China rages as US orders closure of its consulate in Houston
It did not say when the consulate must be vacated, but Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-owned Global Times newspaper, said the notice period was 72 hours. “It means US Chengdu consulate will be closed Monday morning,” he wrote on Twitter.
The US President, Donald Trump has hinted that his government will close more Chinese consulates in its domain despite growing tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Trump, at a White House news conference on Wednesday, indicated that it was “always possible” he would order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the United States, after giving Beijing 72 hours to shut its consulate in Houston, Texas.
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