The Trump administration accused Chinese citizens of stealing scientific research and told the country’s diplomats in Texas to leave. Beijing warned it would retaliate.
U.S. officials said they had ordered the closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston in response to repeated violations of American sovereignty.
Steve Campbell/Associated Press
By Edward Wong, Lara Jakes and
WASHINGTON — The United States has abruptly ordered China to close its diplomatic consulate in Houston by Friday, accusing diplomats of aiding a nationwide pattern of economic espionage and attempted theft of scientific research, as part of a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s moves against China.
China vowed to retaliate, calling the move illegal. Hours after the administration issued its order to the ambassador on Tuesday, consulate employees burned papers in open metal barrels in a courtyard of the Houston building, prompting police officers and firefighters to rush to the area.
President Trump’s campaign strategists, anxious about his failures on the pandemic, have been rolling out a blanket anti-China message to appeal to his supporters in recent weeks.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been aggressively pushing that message, said on Wednesday at a news conference in Copenhagen that the Trump administration is “setting out clear expectations as to how the Chinese Communist Party is going to behave.” He warned that when they didn’t, the United States would “take actions” to protect its interests.
.................
<
No comments:
Post a Comment