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- The U.S. has abruptly announced it will close a Chinese consulate located in Houston, amid accusations of spying
- Workers at the consulate have since been caught burning papers, as they rush to evict the premises
- The closure follows accusations China had been trying to hack labs in the U.S. to steal COVID-19 vaccine information
- Two men have been indicted in relation to the crime, while China has denied any involvement
The U.S. has abruptly closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, amid accusations Beijing was spying on health authorities working to create a COVID-19 vaccine.
The closure is symptomatic of the escalating tension between the two countries, who are fighting over everything from the coronavirus, to trade issues and border disputes, as well as accusations of human rights violations.
Abrupt closure
The directive by the U.S. State Department to close the consulate was announced yesterday, the same day that the U.S. Justice Department indicted two Chinese nationals for seeking to steal coronavirus vaccine research.
“We have directed the closure of PRC Consulate General Houston in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information,” State Department Spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus said.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has also been highly critical of China during his recent trip to the U.K. and Denmark, where he sought commitments from world leaders to push back against Beijing.
.@SecPompeo: China is working to take down freedom all across the world. pic.twitter.com/9j0kWl1EOt
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 22, 2020
Let it burn
Following the abrupt closure announcement, staff at the Chinese Consulate in Houston were spotted burning documents and other papers overnight, as they rushed to evacuate the building.
Local firefighters were alerted to the hazardous activity, however in a bizarre scene, they weren’t officially allowed in the building for over an hour.
By the time the firefighters did get inside, all of the barrel fires with papers inside had been extinguished.
A video captured by our crew outside the Consulate General of China in Houston shows people hosing down what appear to be flaming open containers in the courtyard of the property.
— KPRC2Tulsi (@KPRC2Tulsi) July 22, 2020
DETAILS: https://t.co/2cOeKoap96 pic.twitter.com/ToQitHjy2T
Increasing tension
China has unilaterally condemned the consulate closure, labelling it an “outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China-US relations.”
“China urges the US to immediately withdraw its wrong decision, or China will definitely take a proper and necessary response,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Wang Wenbin.
Beijing has also denied having any involvement in the attempted theft of the U.S. coronavirus vaccines.
All eyes are now on China to see how they punish the U.S. for this latest move.
They recently disrupted a planned naval exercise between America and Australia, but it’s not known if the two incidents are linked, or just a sign of the wider tension between the two countries.
