China on Friday ordered the US consulate in Chengdu in the southwestern Sichuan province to shut its operation in retaliation against Washington ordering the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston.
“On the morning of 24 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China informed the US Embassy in China of its decision to withdraw its consent for the establishment and operation of the US Consulate General in Chengdu,” a statement published on the website of the Chinese foreign ministry.
“The Ministry also made specific requirements on the ceasing of all operations and events by the Consulate General,” the statement added.
The US’s Chengdu consulate is located close to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
The shutting of it would make it more difficult for the US to monitor the situation in TAR.
Opened in 1985, the US Chengdu consular district’s jurisdiction, according to the consulate website is “…made up of the Provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region and Chongqing City Municipality.”
Beijing blamed Washington for making the move.“On July 21, the US launched a unilateral provocation by abruptly demanding that China close its Consulate General in Houston. The US move seriously breached international law, the basic norms of international relations, and the terms of the China-US Consular Convention. It gravely harmed China-US relations,” the statement added.
Speaking at the regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that some personnel from the US consulate in Chengdu had “…engaged in activities inconsistent with their identities.”
“China has made representations and the US side is fully aware of them,” he said.Wang added that China had made specific requirements for the US embassy to cease all operations and events by the mission in Chengdu.
“Diplomacy is reciprocal,” Wang said.
“The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the US. It conforms with international law, the basic norms of international relations, and customary diplomatic practices,” the Chinese foreign ministry statement had said in the morning.“It conforms with international law, the basic norms of international relations, and customary diplomatic practices.”
The statement added: “The current situation in China-US relations is not what China desires to see, and the US is responsible for all this. We once again urge the US to immediately retract its wrong decision and create necessary conditions for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track.”
On Wednesday, Beijing had called the US’s decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston an “unprecedented escalation” in Washington’s recent actions against China and warned of “legitimate and necessary” response against the decision.
The tit-for-tat closing of consulates is sure to further sour the rapidly deteriorating bilateral ties with the two countries already at loggerheads over South China Sea disputes, the Hong Kong security bill, US arms-sales to Taiwan, the condition of minorities in Xinjiang, and the origin of the coronavirus besides an ongoing trade war.