Beijing permanently closes US consulate in Chengdu

SANAA, July 27 (YPA) – The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu closed its doors in response to the US shutdown of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas.
Chinese government media released a video clip showing the American flag being lowered from the Chengdu Consulate (southwest China).
In a statement last Friday, the White House had called on the Chinese authorities to “consider its malicious acts, rather than reciprocate,” according to Reuters.
“The United States decided to close the Chinese consulate in Houston, to protect the intellectual property and private information of Americans,” White House spokeswoman Kylie McKinney told a news conference.
It stated that “the Chinese Communist Party has for many years been using American technology and intellectual property for commercial gain.”
Tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated after the Corona virus, which appeared in China, caused injuries and deaths in large numbers in the United States.
On July 21, the United States ordered the closure of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Houston, Texas, after receiving information that it had destroyed documents outside the consulate building, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the cancellation of the US consulate in Chengdu in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston .