Beijing, Jul 24 (UNI) China on Friday ordered the United States to close down its consulate in Chengdu, days after Washington forced the Chinese consulate in Houston to cease operations.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US diplomats in China had been notified on Friday morning that Beijing was revoking the license for the Chengdu consulate in China's southwest, which has been ordered to "stop all business and activities", CNN reported.
The Chinese MEA blamed the US government for "unilaterally provoking the incident" by ordering the closure of its Houston office, an action Beijing said, "seriously violated international law and the basic norms of international relations."
"The current situation between China and the United States is something China does not want to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the United States," the foreign ministry said. "We once again urge the US to immediately revoke the erroneous decision to create necessary conditions for the return of bilateral relations to normal."
Chengdu, the capital of China's southwest Sichuan province, is an important diplomatic outpost for the US, covering a large swath of the country, including the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
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