China is moving to close the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu in retaliation for the forced closure of the Chinese diplomatic facility in Houston on Tuesday, citing a source briefed on the decision, reports South China Morning Post.
Washington maintains five consulates on the Chinese mainland – in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu and Wuhan – as well as a consulate general for Hong Kong and Macau. The closure of the Chengdu facility is expected to escalate tensions between China and the US.
China vowed to retaliate after the US closed its Houston consulate to “protect Americans’ intellectual property and private information”. There were initial suggestions that the US consulate in Wuhan would be targeted by Beijing for closure.
David Stilwell, a senior US East Asia affairs official at the State Department, described the Houston consulate as the “epicentre” of efforts by the Chinese military to send students to the US to obtain information that could advance its warfare capabilities.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hit back at the allegation, calling it “nonsense”, but did not say which US consulate would be targeted when asked to elaborate on China’s retaliation.
“In response to the unreasonable action of the United States, China will take necessary countermeasures to protect its legitimate interest,” Wang said.
Wang also said the US had opened Chinese diplomatic pouches without permission in July 2018 and January 2020, infringing China’s dignity. He said China had protested to the US, which had not denied the accusation, but cited “technical reasons” for the incidents.
Wang also dismissed suggestions that the latest spat was related to a dispute over delays in American diplomats being allowed to return to their embassies and consulates in China because of travel restrictions and quarantine rules introduced by Beijing to contain the spread of Covid-19.
He said the US had temporarily closed its consulate in Wuhan on January 23, but some diplomats had returned in June. “China has always facilitated the lawful operation of the US consulate,” he said.
Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, an independent think tank, said closing the consulate in Wuhan does not create much cost for the US, but closing the one in Chengdu would create bigger impact.
“Tibet is one of the concerns for the US consulate in Chengdu. The US is more concerned about Tibet and Xinjiang these years,” he said.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the nationalist tabloid Global Times , said China would take countermeasures but that closing the Wuhan consulate would not be strong enough as the US had already evacuated staff during the Covid-19 pandemic . China would probably “think out of the box” in its retaliation, Hu said.
The US consulate in Chengdu opened in 1985 and is strategically important as it covers the country’s southwestern region, including the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet autonomous region, and Chongqing.
The consulate became widely known when Wang Lijun, former police chief and vice mayor of Chongqing, travelled there on February 6, 2012, in an attempt to defect after falling out with former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai.
Wang reportedly “left of his own volition” after 30 hours inside the building and later reported giving evidence which incriminated Bo at a meeting with US consular officials during his time there.
That set off China’s biggest political crisis in decade. Bo was sacked and later sentenced to life in prison for bribery, abuse of power and corruption. Bo’s wife Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Wang was jailed for 15 years for abuse of power, bribery and defection.
Jim Mullinax, the US consul general in Chengdu, declined to comment.