United States Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the consulate was ordered to close “to protect American intellectual property and the private information of Americans.”
In a statement posted on its official social media, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the order to close the consulate was a “political provocation unilaterally launched by the US side, which seriously violates international law, the basic rules that govern the international relations and the bilateral consular agreement between China and the United States. “
“China strongly condemns a movement so outrageous and unjustified that it will sabotage relations between China and the United States,” he said. “We urge the United States to immediately withdraw its wrong decision, otherwise China will take legitimate and necessary reactions.”
The statement goes on to say that the United States has been “blaming China with stigmatization and unwarranted attacks on China’s social system, harassing Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel in the United States, intimidating and questioning Chinese students, and confiscating their electrical devices. even stopping them without cause. “
He added, “China is committed to the principle of non-interference. Infiltration and interference are never in the genes and tradition of China’s foreign policy.”
Relations between China and the United States have plummeted in the past year, amid an ongoing trade war, the coronavirus pandemic, and US criticism of China’s human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
The indictment also marks the first time that the United States has accused hackers of working on behalf of the Chinese government.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently in Europe, where he has brought together leaders on the continent to take a harder line with Beijing and meet with exiled dissidents.
“The United States will not tolerate violations by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, nor have we tolerated unfair PRC trade practices, theft of American jobs and other egregious behavior.” on equity and reciprocity in relations between the United States and China, “Ortagus said in the statement.
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