US-China relations: forced closure of Houston consulate could cause lasting damage, observers say
- Washington fails to give a reason for the unprecedented move, saying only it ‘will not tolerate [China]’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people’
- Beijing ‘urges the US to immediately withdraw its wrong decision, or China will definitely take a proper and necessary response’
China on Wednesday vowed to retaliate after it was ordered by the United States to close its consulate in Houston, as the nations’ acrimonious dispute took another step towards bubbling over.
Details are sketchy as to what triggered the move – unprecedented in 41 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries – but analysts said it amounted to a downgrading of that relationship and could cause lasting damage.
Washington said the move was made to “protect Americans’ intellectual property and private information”.
“The United States will not tolerate the PRC [People’s Republic of China]’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behaviour,” US state department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.
“President Trump insists on fairness and reciprocity in US-China relations,” she said.