The United States orders China to close the Houston consulate and Beijing promises retaliation

The United States has ordered the Chinese government to close its consulate in Houston, citing the need to protect American intellectual property.

“We have directed the closure of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston, in order to protect American intellectual property and the private information of Americans,” State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus told The Hill in a statement, referring to China as “the People’s Republic of China”. name, the People’s Republic of China.

Ortagus added: “The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, nor have we tolerated the PRC’s unfair business practices, American job theft, and other egregious behavior.” President TrumpDonald John Trump More than a dozen people injured in shootings near Chicago funeral home Players of the Cleveland Indians meet with team leaders to discuss the possible name change Pelosi calls the coronavirus the ‘Trump virus’ MORE insists on equity and reciprocity in relations between the United States and China. “

Although Ortagus did not elaborate on possible violations, he did cite part of the Vienna Convention, noting that the treaty requires diplomats “to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State” and “have a duty not to interfere in internal affairs of that State. “

Beijing quickly responded to the move with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin calling it “an unprecedented escalation” and promised retaliation.

“The United States has many more diplomatic missions and personnel working in China. So if the United States is bent on following this wrong path, we will respond resolutely, ”said Wang.

Firefighters responded to reports of burned documents on consulate property Tuesday night, but were denied access to the facility, according to The Associated Press.

The department’s measure comes after the Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard Pompeo Top business groups file suit over Trump order limiting work visas Two American carriers across the Taiwan Strait in 48 years, time for more The Hill’s Morning Report – Featured By Facebook – The Divided Republican Party introduced bill COVID-19 The idea recently came up that the US could ban the popular Chinese video app TikTok, run by the Bytedance company. Washington has voiced its concerns about the company before, although Bytedance has vehemently denied that it ever provided user data to the Chinese government.

It also comes a day after the Commerce Department revealed sanctions against 11 Chinese companies over concerns that the companies were assisting the Chinese government with the oppression of Uighur minorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.