The Chinese Communist Party ordered the shutdown of the U.S. consulate in Chengdu on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Citing escalating tensions with Washington—particularly the forced closure of one of China’s own consulates in Houston—Beijing responded in kind.
"The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
U.S. officials said the Chinese consulate in Houston was closed because of its role in the theft of intellectual property by the CCP. The Department of Justice also announced charges Thursday against Chinese nationals conducting medical and technological research in the United States who lied about their connections to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). One researcher who had taken refuge in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco was arrested Thursday night.
"These members of China’s People's Liberation Army applied for research visas while hiding their true affiliation with the PLA," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. "This is another part of the Chinese Communist Party’s plan to take advantage of our open society and exploit academic institutions."
These decisions come in the midst of what may be a turning point in Sino-American relations. A Thursday speech Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave at the Nixon Library called for an openly hawkish disposition against China, warning about Beijing’s hegemonic designs.
"If we bend the knee now, our children's children may be at the mercy of the CCP, whose actions are the primary challenge to the free world," Pompeo said. "If the free world doesn't change Communist China, Communist China will change us."
Some experts believe the CCP is attempting to deescalate the worsening crisis with the closure of the U.S. consulate."Beijing's decision to close the U.S. consulate in Chengdu is among the least escalatory steps China could have taken in response," Zack Cooper, a research fellow in foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Free Beacon.
"The Chinese consulate in Houston is more important to China than our consulate in Chengdu is to the United States," Cooper said. "The fact that Chinese leaders chose to close Chengdu rather than Guangzhou, Hong Kong, or Shanghai suggests they were trying to deescalate the worsening crisis while looking tough for domestic political purposes."
Given recent developments though, Cooper also anticipates Beijing’s pushback may not be finished. "Other responses might still be coming, particularly after Secretary of State Pompeo’s tough language on the Communist Party of China yesterday," he added.