China orders US to shut consulate as retaliation
Next 3 months before US elections ‘highly dangerous’ for bilateral ties
China has ordered the US to close its consulate in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, in retaliation for the US asking China to close its consulate in Houston, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, which analysts have called “an equivalent and reciprocal countermeasure,” reflecting the core principle of diplomatic dignity as well as China’s efforts to bring the conflict with the US under control.
The order came after the US abruptly asked China on Tuesday to close its consulate in Houston within 72 hours, which is a unilateral political provocation by the US against China.
Closing the US Chengdu consulate is a legitimate and necessary response. China’s move conforms with international law and the basic norms of international relations, as well as diplomatic practices, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The current situation is not what China wants to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the US, the ministry said, noting that China once again urges the US to revoke its decision and create necessary conditions for the return of bilateral relations.
China also gave the US consulate in Chengdu 72 hours to close, as it informed the US on Friday morning. The US consulate in Chengdu will be closed on Monday morning, a source close to the matter told the Global Times.
Equivalent and reciprocal
Compared to the US consulates in East China’s Shanghai and South China’s Guangdong Province, the consulate in Chengdu has a relatively smaller business volume, which shows that China is taking a restrained approach, said Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University.
The diplomatic spat has quickly escalated, as some reports hint the US may close more Chinese consulates. “Unlike Washington that uses tactics to further inflame tensions, Beijing has been trying to remain restrained,” Li said.
Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times that choosing the US consulate in Chengdu is an equivalent and reciprocal countermeasure, as the number of consulate employees is almost equal to that of China’s consulate in Houston.
The US consulate in Chengdu covers consular affairs in several southwestern provinces and regions. It also became the scene in 2012 of an incident involving Wang Lijun, a former vice mayor and police chief of Southwest China’s Chongqing, who defected and entered the consulate, but later left on his own volition.
The Chengdu consulate is relevant to strategic security affairs, Li noted.
Documents and information relevant to Tibet and ethnic groups living in the area have been collected through the consulate, and an observer on China-US relations who preferred not to be named told the Global Times that the Chengdu consulate has become a major channel for the US to interfere in Tibet affairs and conduct “penetration work,” which has a negative impact on regional stability.
Some personnel from that consulate have engaged in activities inconsistent with their identities, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, told a press conference on Friday. “China had made representations and the US is fully aware,” he said.
“Closing the US consulate in Chengdu sent out a clear message: China won’t take the first move to sabotage China
US relations, but will definitely fight back against US moves that are ‘out of line,’” Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times.
Closing consulates and expelling diplomats is a conventional way to go about the strategic games played between major powers, and there have been many previous examples in history, said observers.
If the US continues its crazy moves, China can play another card to retaliate; that is, expel so-called “diplomats” from the US who are actually CIA agents in China, especially those in the Hong Kong region, Lü noted.
Given the current escalation, observers believe that the next three months before the US presidential election will be a highly dangerous period for the two countries and even a military conflict can’t be ruled out.
Some Chinese netizens said they feel “very sad” for the American people who won’t have access to delicious cuisine like hotpot or giant pandas in Sichuan, as they would feel the consequences of their reckless politicians.