(Houston) China on Friday ordered the closure of a US consulate in retaliation for an identical measure targeting its own diplomatic mission in Houston, where staff gave way to police amid accusations of Cold War-worthy espionage.
Julia BENARROUS with Francesco FONTEMAGGI in Washington and Patrick BAERT in Beijing
France Media Agency
The Americans will have to close their representation in Chengdu, metropolis of 11 millions of inhabitants of southwestern China, announced the Chinese Department of Foreign Affairs, the latest avatar of an unprecedented escalation between the two giants of the Pacific.
This decision constitutes "a legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable measures of the United States", he stressed.
"Certain employees of the United States consulate in Chengdu engaged in activities beyond their remit, they interfered in the internal affairs of China and endangered Chinese security and interests" , accused the spokesman of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.
PHOTO NOEL CELIS, AFP
The American consulate, in Chengdu
The White House called on Beijing to "cease" its own "harmful acts rather than launching into retaliation". But Washington has refrained from publicly brandishing the threat of counter-retaliation at this point.
"Message" to Beijing
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the Chinese consulate in Houston was a "hub for espionage and theft of intellectual property."
Washington gave Beijing until Friday to close its mission in the city of Texas, a major world center for biological and medical research.
Friday, throughout the day, employees filled moving trucks and threw garbage bags into a nearby dumpster, as police and protesters watched as they booed cars leaving the consulate.
In the afternoon, US agents finally entered the building after opening the door using tools, an AFP reporter noted.
At the end of the evening, a spokesperson for the State Department confirmed that the consulate was indeed "closed".
PHOTO ADREES LATIF, REUTERS
Throughout the day on Friday, employees filled moving trucks and threw garbage bags into a nearby dumpster at the Chinese Consulate in Houston.
Washington explained that the shutdown was not a response to a specific file.
"At some point you just have to say 'enough'," said a senior US State Department official.
A Justice Department official added a "message" to other Chinese diplomats to "stop" economic espionage activities.
Sino-American tension, already fueled by the trade war and mutual accusations about the origin of COVID - 16, has gone up a notch in recent weeks with Beijing's imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong.
The two countries have also taken reciprocal sanctions over Xinjiang, with the United States accusing Beijing of violating the rights of Uyghur Muslims in this region of northwestern China.
"Graduated response"
Increasing the pressure, Mike Pompeo called on Thursday "the free world" to "triumph" over the "new tyranny" embodied according to him by Communist China.
"The current situation of Sino-American relations does not correspond to the wishes of China and the United States is entirely responsible for it", replied Chinese diplomacy.
But the Chinese reaction seems relatively measured: on social media, Chinese nationalists had called on the communist regime to close the United States consulate in Hong Kong, which would certainly have fueled the escalation.
"It seems that China has chosen a graduated response rather than a reaction [...] that would call for an American response," observes sinologist Victor Shih of the University of California at San Diego.
Sign of the ambient mistrust, the US government announced Friday the arrest of a Chinese researcher who had taken refuge at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco after being accused of having concealed her links with the army to get his visa.
The US Department of Justice also said a Singaporean national pleaded guilty on Friday, accused of spying on the United States on behalf of China in another case.
The tensions between the two superpowers caused the Chinese stock markets to fall: Hong Kong ended down 2, 16%, Shanghai 3.9% and Shenzhen 5%.
The Chengdu mission notably covers the Tibet Autonomous Region. According to its website, it has 200 employees, including 150 of local status.
In 2013, China requested an explanation from the United States after the publication in the press of a map, leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden, showing US spy sites around the world. The Chengdu consulate was there.
