US takes over Chinese consulate in Houston, Beijing lodges protest
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Houston, July 25
US federal agents and law enforcement officers on Friday entered the Chinese consulate compound in Houston with locksmiths after the mission was shut down amid spiralling tensions between Washington and Beijing.
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The Chinese foreign ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the US law enforcement officers’ “forced entry” into the consulate and lodged a diplomatic protest.
“China will make a proper and necessary response in this regard,” it said.
‘FORCED ENTRY’
AdvertisementChina expresses opposition to the US law enforcement officers’ forced entry into the consulate. The Houston consulate was Chinese property and under diplomatic treaties, US officials had no right to enter the compound. —Chinese Foreign Ministry
The Trump administration ramped up its confrontation with China this week, ordering Beijing’s consulate in Houston to close over concerns about economic espionage. In a retaliatory move, China has already ordered the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan province.
The Chinese consulate located in Houston’s busy Montrose Boulevard for 40 years closed on Friday evening as the deadline set by the Trump administration to shut down the mission expired. The flag and seal of the People’s Republic of China were taken down from outside the Houston consulate. Earlier, the consulate staff was seen removing their belongings from the building. After the Chinese diplomatic staff vacated the building, a number of black SUVs, trucks, two white vans and a locksmith’s van entered the compound, a media house reported. — PTI
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