US orders China to shut down Houston consulate

WASHINGTON: The United States has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston abruptly within 72 hours amid accusations of spying, marking a dramatic deterioration in relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

The US State Department said on Wednesday the Chinese mission in Houston was being closed “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.”

President Donald Trump said in answer to a question at a news briefing it was “always possible” other Chinese missions could be closed too. “We thought there was a fire in one that we did close,” Trump said. “I guess they were burning documents, or burning papers, and I wonder what that’s all about.”

Overnight in Houston, firefighters went to the consulate after smoke was seen. Two US government officials said they had information that documents were being burned there.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the consulate was operating normally. The ministry said Washington had abruptly issued the demand to close the consulate on Tuesday and called it an “unprecedented escalation.”

The Chinese Embassy in Washington had received “bomb and death threats”  due to “smears and hatred” fanned by the US government, spokeswoman Hua Chunying wrote in a tweet. “The US should revoke its erroneous decision. China will surely react with firm countermeasures.”

China is considering shutting the US consulate in the central city of Wuhan in retaliation. Beijing could also target more important consulates in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Guangzhou which would hurt American businesses.

The Houston move comes in the run-up to the November US presidential election, in which Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, have both tried to look tough towards China.

Speaking on a visit to Denmark, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated accusations about Chinese theft of US and European intellectual property.

While offering no specifics about the Houston consulate, Pompeo referred to the indictment of two Chinese nationals over a decade-long cyber espionage campaign that targeted defense contractors, COVID-19 researchers and hundreds of other victims worldwide.

Pompeo also referred to recent speeches by the head of the FBI and others that highlighted Chinese espionage activities. “President Trump has said: ‘Enough. We are not going to allow this to continue to happen,’” he told reporters.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, described the Houston consulate on Twitter as the “central node of the Communist Party’s vast network of spies & influence operations in the United States.”

US-China ties have worsened sharply this year over issues ranging from the coronavirus and telecom giant Huawei to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and clampdown on Hong Kong.