It’s official: US closes its consulate in Chengdu

nBEIJING: The US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu officially shut down on Monday morning, within 72 hours of Beijing ordering its closure as a titfor-tat move against shutting of its Houston consulate.

The US flag at the consulate was lowered at dawn. A large number of police personnel were deployed around the mission with the roads leading to it cordoned off. The Chinese foreign ministry said the Chengdu consulate closed at 10am local time. “China’s competent authorities then entered through the front entrance and took over the premises,” it said.

The shutting of the US Chengdu consulate was in retaliation against Washington’s unexpected closure of China’s consulate in Houston, Texas, claiming the mission had been involved in espionage efforts.

China had given the Americans the same time frame of 72 hours to shut down Chengdu mission, the same deadline US had given it on Houston.

The US’S Chengdu consulate was the nearest to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The shutting of it will now make it more difficult for the US to monitor the situation in TAR where the entry of diplomats and foreign journalists is banned.

Opened in 1985, the US Chengdu consular district’s jurisdiction included provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region and Chongqing City Municipality.”

At midday on Monday, police removed a roadblock that had restricted access to the Chengdu facility, and dozens of passersby stopped to take photos and videos. One man stood across the street and played the Chinese national anthem from his phone.

“We feel very sad about the breaking down of the relationship between China and U.,” said a bystander outside the facility who said his surname was Li. He said he was worried about the impact of deteriorating relations on Chinese citizens who want to travel or study in the US.

The US embassy said in a video in Chinese on Twitter: “The US consulate in Chengdu has been proudly promoting the mutual understanding between Americans and the people in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet since 1985. We will forever miss you.”