In a move seen as retaliatory for the US ordering China to close its consulate in Houston, the Chinese government ordered the US to close its consulate in Chengdu, a city of 16 million in central China, AP reports.
The US ordered China to close their Houston facility last week after accusing Chinese working there of trying to steal medical technology and other research in Texas.
The Chinese retaliation was an expected move in the game of diplomatic chess, but it strikes a significant blow to US-Chinese relations that have already hit their lowest point in decades, with conflicts over trade, Hong Kong, the coronavirus, the security of intellectual property and spying accusations among the issues.
“The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States,” a foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, told the Associated Press. “The current situation in Chinese-U.S. relations is not what China desires to see. The United States is responsible for all this.”
The Chengdu consulate was responsible for monitoring the Chinese-Tibetan border. Its closure renewed concerns in the markets about an ongoing US-China trade war, pushing the Shanghai market down 3.9%. US pre-market trading is also down slightly.