The Chinese consulate in Houston was raided by US officials, shortly after it officially closed its business activities.
The consulate, which Donald Trump forced to close on Wednesday, was reportedly a hot spy bed and was being used to steal medical investigations.
Beijing was told that the consulate must cease operations before Friday.
On Friday afternoon, hours after the consulate officially closed, a group of men who appeared to be US officials were seen forcing a consulate’s back door to open.
The back door of the Chinese consulate in Houston was forced to open on Friday afternoon.
Teams of what appeared to be US officials stormed the empty building.
The group of men was seen opening the doors of the Texas consulate hours after Chinese employees left.
According to a Reuters witness, consulate staff left the building shortly after 4 p.m. and drove away. The back door was forced open.
Chinese authorities have asked Washington to revoke its decision, as it said the closure of the diplomatic office was “breaking the bridge of friendship.”
In response, China has now ordered the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu, also within 72 hours.
The United States has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Hong Kong.
The Chinese consulate is one of five in the United States, not counting the embassy in Washington DC.
The team did not confirm his identity when journalists asked at the scene, but are believed to be US officials who are inspecting
A trio of consular vehicles leave the Chinese Consulate General building late on Friday.
The Chinese consulate in Houston closed its doors on Friday, following an announcement on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, hours before the administration issued its order to vacate the building, consulate employees were seen starting fires in a courtyard of the Houston building, prompting police and fire officials to rush to the area.
Fire crews were unable to access the complex.
Small fires were seen in the building’s courtyard on Tuesday night
Fire crews who arrived at the scene were told that they could not enter to put out the flames.
Sources told NBC on Wednesday that the consulate was known as a Chinese spy center.
Multiple US officials told the network that the Chinese government has long used the Houston consulate to steal valuable medical research, and that it was involved in attempts to infiltrate the oil and natural gas industries.
They said the consulate is well fortified, hardened to avoid American surveillance, and was a high-tech communications center to coordinate and execute various espionage operations.
Mark Warner, a Democratic senator from Virginia and a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Katy Tur of NBC News that he would not discuss the specific intelligence behind Wednesday’s closure.
“But I can tell you that for the past two years, I and other members of the intelligence committee have held classified briefings with business and academic leaders about the Chinese Communist Party’s concerted efforts to steal our intellectual property, to steal it from companies, to steal it from universities, be on better guard, ” he said.
Warner suggested that the action was fueled by the FBI and its intelligence.
Police are seen outside the Chinese consulate in Houston on Friday night, shortly after Chinese diplomats vacated her.
An officer is seen standing guard at the consulate, and his team has broken down doors to force their entry.
China has five consulates in the United States. The one from Houston, in the photo, closed on Friday
The State Department said China was running “massive operations of illegal espionage and influence.”
David R. Stilwell, who oversees East Asia and Pacific policy at the State Department, told the New York Times that the Houston consulate had a history of engaging in “subversive behavior.”
He said the consulate was the epicenter of investigative theft in the United States.
For example, Stilwell said, he said the Consul General, the top Chinese official there, and two other diplomats were recently captured using a fake ID to escort Chinese travelers to the gate area of a charter flight from George Bush Intercontinental Airport. .
Stilwell said that some of China’s scientific theft attempts in the United States had accelerated in the past six months and could be related to efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine, although he again presented no evidence.
Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, who has been a leader in aggressively pushing hard-line policies on China, said at a press conference in Copenhagen on Wednesday that the Trump administration was “setting clear expectations for how the Chinese Communist Party is doing. ” to behave. ‘
He warned that the United States “would take steps” to protect its interests.
Moving vans were photographed outside the consulate in Houston on Wednesday.
Much of the interest in Houston has focused on the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
In April 2019, three out of five scientists identified by federal authorities as involved in efforts to steal the American investigation on behalf of China at MD Anderson were expelled by the institution.
A fourth scientist resigned before the conclusion of the investigation, and the fifth was disciplined by the center.
Trump said during a press conference Wednesday night that “it is always possible” for his administration to shut down more Chinese missions.
The closure of the consulate marks a new collapse in relations between the two largest economies in the world, and it is a significant change since just six months ago, when the countries signed a trade agreement and Trump boasted that the relationship between the United States and China “could be the best it has been.” in a long, long time.
Trump said six months ago that the relationship with China was excellent.
Relations between Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping are now at a low level.
Now, in addition to closing the consulate, the United States is also considering banning Chinese-owned mobile apps, such as Tik Tok, removing Chinese technology from the power grid, and sanctioning Communist Party officials for the internment of Muslims and a law on security that effectively ends Hong Kong’s independent legal status.
Trump also cut off additional trade talks and threatened to penalize China because he said they “could have stopped” the pandemic.
Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, described the reasons given by the United States for closing the consulate as “incredibly ridiculous.”
He urged the United States to reverse its “wrong decision,” or China “would react with firm countermeasures.”
“While Chinese diplomats promote mutual understanding and friendship, the United States embassy in China publicly attacks China’s political system,” he said.
“As a result of the stains and hatred fueled by the United States government, the Chinese embassy has received death and bomb threats.”
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