(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 were busy evacuating the scene 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 diplomatic representation in Chengdu, a metropolis of 16 million inhabitants in the southwest of China, announced the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 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.
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 2020
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 morning, preparations on the spot were going well. Gloved and masked people pulled out bags that were then taken away by a large moving truck and smaller ones, an AFP reporter said.
More garbage bags were placed in nearby dumpsters as Houston police arrived at the scene.
The American sanction fell a few hours after the announcement of the indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of computer hacking, aimed in particular at American research on a vaccine against COVID - 19.
But US officials said on Friday that this was not a response to a specific case.
"At some point you just have to say 'enough'," said a senior US State Department official.
A Justice Ministry official added a "message" to other Chinese diplomats to "stop" economic espionage activities. "The whole of the Houston consulate's activities has largely crossed the line of what we were prepared to accept," he said.
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 150 employees, including 32 of local status.
In 2013, China requested an explanation from the United States after the publication in the press of a map, disclosed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, showing US spy sites around the world. The Chengdu consulate was there.