U.S. Orders China to Close Houston Consulate Over Espionage and Theft

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U.S. Orders China to Close Houston Consulate Over Espionage and Theft
Reuters

The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston, both countries said on Wednesday, further deteriorating bilateral ties, and a source said Beijing was considering shutting the U.S. consulate in Wuhan in retaliation.

Washington “abruptly demanded” closure of the Houston consulate on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry said. The editor of an official media outlet said China had been given 72 hours to do so.

Beijing condemned the order and threatened retaliation, but did not say what measures it might take.

The State Department confirmed the decision and said the move was made “to protect American intellectual property and American’s private information.”

Speaking on a visit to Denmark, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered no specifics, but repeated accusations about Chinese theft of U.S. and European intellectual property, which he said were costing “hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

“President Trump has said enough - we are not going to allow this to continue to happen,” he told a news conference.

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Late on Tuesday in Houston, local media reported that documents had been burned in a courtyard at the consulate. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the consulate was operating normally, declining to comment further on those reports.

“The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, using an acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

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