Amidst the current diplomatic tensions between China and the United States, Beijing has pronounced the closure of the US consulate in the city of Chengdu. This move by the mainland comes after United States’ order to shut the Chinese consulate in Houston.
On Thursday, the United States released an order to the Chinese government to close its embassy in Houston. The order stated that the the government should shut the consulate by this Friday. “The decision was taken because China was stealing intellectual property”, quotes the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
After this move by the United States, China had threatened the country and assured that it will retaliate. In a statement, China urged US to “backtrack and create necessary conditions for bilateral relations to return to normal”.
The Chinese foreign ministry describes the move as “legitimate and necessary”. It states that a response of this kind was imperative “to the unreasonable measures by the United States”. The ministry also accused United States of deteriorating the diplomatic relations between both the nations and asserted that “this is not what China desires”.
In a speech delivered at the Nixon Library today, Mike Pompeo, lashed out at China and urged that a “free 21st century” would only be ensured if they stop engaging with China. “securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time and America is perfectly positioned to lead it”, said Pompeo.
BBC has also reported the United States blaming the Chinese government for the online hacking of the COVID-19 vaccine research data, for which two Chinese nationals were indicted by the court.
The diplomatic tension between both the countries has been escalating since United States condemned China, imposing various accusations with regards to the Coronavirus pandemic. America, has also criticized China’s imposition of the new security law in Hong Kong. President Donald Trump, has especially, not left an opportunity to criticize and blame the nation on any and every public platform and thus creating a nation-wide ‘anti-China’ sentiment.
