The United States has given China 72 hours to close its Consulate General in Houston, arguing that there is an “imbalance” in bilateral relations, something that Beijing has considered a “political provocation”, while threatening Washington to adopt ” countermeasures. “
The information has been advanced on Twitter by the chief editor of the official newspaper ‘Global Times’, Hu Xijin, but later confirmed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at the daily press conference.
According to Wang, quoted by the local newspaper ‘South China Morning Post’, the Donald Trump Administration notified the closure order to China on Tuesday, so that from that day he has 72 hours to close this consular office.
“The United States has argued that there is an imbalance in bilateral relations, but this is its usual excuse without a basis. In fact, judging by the number of diplomats and diplomatic institutions, the United States has many more than China,” he said. indicated Wang.
In addition, he has denounced a diplomatic offensive by Washington towards Beijing for which “the United States has placed restrictions on Chinese diplomats in June and in October without a valid reason.”
In his opinion, “due to deliberate acts of hate speech by the United States, Chinese delegations to the country have recently received death and bomb threats.”
“The US Embassy in Beijing has also frequently published articles attacking China,” added the ministerial spokesman, estimating that with all this it is clear “who is intervening in the internal affairs of others and who has started the confrontation.”
Thus, the Peking Government has “strongly” condemned the US request, considering that it is a “political provocation”, since it is not due to a previous movement, but has been taken “unilaterally”, giving rise to ” an unprecedented escalation. “
“China requires the United States to reverse this erroneous decision,” said Wang, warning that, “if the United States goes ahead, China will have to take the necessary countermeasures.”
US media reported on Wednesday that the Houston Police and Fire Department went to the Chinese Consulate General on Tuesday night because they were burning documents in the garden.
According to its website, the Houston Consulate General was the first to establish China in the United States in 1979 when the two countries reestablished diplomatic relations. It serves eight U.S. states – Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi – and Puerto Rico.
China and the United States have spent years in an escalation of tension that ranges from the trade war to the restrictions on journalists and the media, although in recent months it has exploded on account of the coronavirus pandemic, for which Washington directly blames Beijing.
