A US intelligence agency believes that the Chinese Communist Party is considering closing a US consulate in China as a reward for the Trump administration’s move to close the consulate in Houston due to attacks on US energy companies, Fox News reported. .
An intelligence source told Fox News on Thursday that it is not clear which consulate could close China, but said he believes that if the CCP makes a move, it would be “proportional” to Houston.
ADMINISTRATION OF TRUMP CONSULTATION CHINA CONSULTATION IN HOUSTON FOR OBJECTIVE OF THE UNITED STATES ENERGY COMPANIES: SOURCES
The United States Consulate in Wuhan, China is considered the “sister” facility of the Houston Consulate in China. The United States also has consulates in China in Chengdu, Shenyang, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. The United States Embassy in China is in Beijing.
The South China Post quoted a source as saying Thursday that the US consulate in the city of Chengdu, in southwest China, would be the target of China’s retaliation.
Sources also told Fox News on Thursday that the Trump administration’s move to close the Chinese consulate in Houston was due, in part, to attacks by the Chinese Communist Party on American energy companies.
According to sources, one of the main reasons the Houston consulate closed, unlike other Chinese diplomatic outposts, was because the CCP was carrying out threats and intimidation tactics against US energy companies in the South Sea. from China.
Chinese officials carrying out this, according to sources, relied mainly on the Houston consulate.
The information comes after the State Department alleged on Wednesday that the administration was closing the consulate due to increased espionage activity.
CHINA THREATENS RETALIATION AFTER US ORDERS HOUSTON CONSULATE CLOSURE
China called the shutdown an “unprecedented escalation” by the United States and threatened to retaliate, according to the South China Morning Post.
“China demands that the United States reverse the wrong decision. If the United States moves forward, China will take the necessary countermeasures, “said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement to Fox News that the shutdown directive was issued “to protect American intellectual property and the private information of Americans.”
The United States “will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair business practices, theft of American jobs and other egregious behavior,” he added. “President Trump insists on equity and reciprocity in relations between the United States and China.”
Rich News Edson, Ronn Blitzer and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
