China has said the U.S. move to close its Houston consulate this week means they also need to retaliate and put sanctions on the US to equally feel the heat.
Washington on Tuesday gave China 72 hours to close the consulate, which it said was “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ a massive tension brewing between the two economies.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described the U.S. allegations as “malicious slander” and said the “unreasonable” move had “severely harmed” relations and added that “China must make a necessary response and safeguard its legitimate rights,”
Hu Xijin, editor of China’s Global Times tabloid, posted on Twitter: “Based on what I know, China will announce countermeasure on Friday Beijing time. One U.S. consulate in China will be asked to close. This will make Washington suffer much pain,”
A U.S. law implementation official, acquainted with the purposes behind the conclusion of Chinese department in Houston, said there was “not one solitary occurrence” which prompted the choice. He said the office was a piece of a “nonstop example” of dubious or possibly criminal operations by Chinese political missions.
