Chinese authorities take over US Consulate in Chengdu

U.S. diplomatic staff vacated the American Consulate in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on Monday after Beijing ordered its closure amid rising tensions between the two global powers.

China’s government ordered the U.S. mission to shutter in retaliation for the Trump administration’s decision to force the Chinese Consulate in Houston to close, accusing diplomats there of spying and stealing intellectual property.

In Chengdu, footage broadcast by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed U.S. consular staff leaving the facility, a plaque being removed and the U.S. flag lowered. China’s foreign ministry said its staff entered the building and were in control.

Outside, crowds assembled waving Chinese flags and taking photos and selfies on smartphones as shoppers and families with strollers jammed nearby streets on a sunny day in the city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

The tit-for-tat closings marked a significant escalation in U.S.-China tensions, which have flared over the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, human rights, Taiwan and Hong Kong. President Donald Trump and his top advisers have blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic. Critics say it is an effort to distract from the administration’s flawed response to the health crisis.

The State Department expressed disappointment with Monday’s closure of its Chengdu facility, saying the consulate “has stood at the center of our relations with the people in Western China, including Tibet, for 35 years.” The U.S. government “will strive to continue our outreach to the people in this important region through our other posts in China,” the agency said in a statement.