US vs China:  China Orders US Consulate in Chengdu to Close as Tension Rises

Relationship between China and the US have been increasingly strained. Beijing has ordered the closure of a US consulate in south-western China, in a move that escalates tensions between the two countries to a new level.

However, this is a ‘Tit-for-tat’ move by Beijing to get back at US for ordering Chinese mission in Houston to close.

On Friday, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said it had ordered the US consulate in Chengdu, in Sichuan province, to cease all operations. Authorities notified the US of China’s decision to revoke its consent for the consulate to operate, according to a notice on the ministry’s website.

Describing the measure as a “legitimate and necessary response” to the actions of the US, which earlier this week gave the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, 72 hours to close, Beijing called on Washington to reverse its decision. Chinese officials said on Friday the mission in Houston was still operating.

“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 bring “bilateral relations back on track”.

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China’s ministry of foreign affairs did not give a deadline for when the consulate must close but the editor of the state-run Global Times newspaper said on Twitter the consulate had been given 72 hours to close.

Without giving further details, the US said it ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to shut in order to protect “American intellectual property and private information”.

China called the measure “unprecedented” and “outrageous”, and accused US diplomats of “infiltration and interference activities”.

According to the Guardian,  Pompeo said: “Today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else.”

“We, the free nations of the world, must induce change in the Chinese Communist party’s behaviour in more creative and assertive ways, because Beijing’s actions threaten our people and our prosperity,” he said, calling the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, a “true believer in a bankrupt, totalitarian ideology”.

“If the free world doesn’t change communist China, communist China will change us,” he added.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman described as futile Pompeo’s efforts to “launch a new crusade against China”. “What he is doing is like an ant trying to shake a tree,” she wrote in English and Chinese on Twitter, which is blocked in China and used by Chinese diplomats to target international audiences.

Wang on Friday described Pompeo’s speech as a “malicious” and “groundless attack” on the Communist party and its domestic and foreign policies. “Pompeo’s remarks ignore facts, turn what is black into white and are full of ideological prejudice and a cold war mindset,” he said.

Hours after the foreign ministry’s announcement, Americans in China received a security alert, reminding them of the risk of “arbitrary detention” and the possibility of being blocked from leaving, or exit bans. US citizens in China received a similar alert a few weeks ago.

The most recent notice told Americans to “exercise increased caution,” warning that citizens may be “subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to ‘state security’”.

On Friday, journalists in Chengdu reported a heavy police presence outside the consulate following the announcement on Friday, with officers checking phones and ordering people to delete photographs.

It was not clear how many people would be affected by the closure. In 1985, it has more than 200 employees, including about 150 are locally hired Chinese staff. Many diplomats had left the country during the pandemic and have struggled to return.

A livestream hosted by the state broadcaster CCTV showed little movement outside the mission but was being watched by as many as 20 million people on Friday afternoon. Many signaled their support of the closure – with one internet user calling for the mission to be renovated and turned a hotpot restaurant. Others criticised the measure.

“Confrontation is not good, it affects the economy. It affects everyone,” one user said.