China instructed the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a tactful conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades.
Beijing accused the Trump administration of the breakdown in relations, calling its own action justified after Washington notified China this week to shutter its consulate in Houston and accused its diplomats of acting illegally.
A Chinese official, in turn, denounced American diplomats in Chengdu, a southwestern city, for interfering in China’s affairs.
The Trump administration on Tuesday instructed the Houston consulate closed within 72 hours.
Analysts on both sides say bilateral relations are at their awful since 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon began overtures to the People’s Republic of China, leading to the start of formal diplomatic relations in 1979.
Today, China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else,” Mr Pompeo said.
China has given the US until Monday to close the consulate in Chengdu, according to the editor of China’s Global Times.
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