Beijing orders US to close its consulate in Chengdu in retaliation for closure of Chinese facility in Houston

The Chinese Foreign Ministry ordered the US government to shutter a diplomatic office in Chengdu, a move Beijing deemed a tit-for-tat response to Washington’s recent expulsion of Chinese consulate staff from a facility in Texas.

“China has decided to revoke the license for the establishment and operation of the US Consulate General in Chengdu and put forward specific requirements for the Consulate General to stop all business and activities,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday morning.

“The current situation between China and the United States is something China does not want to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the United States.”

Beijing once again urged Washington to “immediately revoke the erroneous decision to create necessary conditions for the return of bilateral relations to normal,” it added.

Washington “unilaterally provoked” the retaliatory move, the statement went on, pointing to this week’s decision to shut down a Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, which it said “seriously violated international law and… damaged Sino-US relations.”

Though Beijing expressed regret over escalating tensions between the two countries, it said expelling American diplomats was a “legitimate and necessary response” to “unreasonable actions” on the US side, insisting it has acted in line with international norms.