The Chinese government has demanded that Washington rectify its mistakes to normalize bilateral relations after the closure of the US Consulate in the city of Chengdu in retaliation for the closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston.
“We again urge the Americans to correct their wrongdoings and create conditions for the normalization of relations between the two countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press appearance.
This July 27, the Consulate in Chengdu, one of the five that the United States has in China, ceased its activities at 10:00 a.m. local time, in a symmetrical response to the closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston on July 25.
Wang blamed the deterioration in relations between the two powers on the US government.
The senior official emphasized that the current state of relations between the two countries was “undesirable” for China.
After the eviction from the American consulate, Chinese officials entered the diplomatic establishment emulating the American agents who entered the Chinese consulate in Houston.
“It was a necessary response to the illegal acts of the United States after the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston and the invasion of the building,” said Wang.
The spokesperson said that the closure of the consulate in Houston was provisional and the building is owned by the Chinese government, so the US authorities had no right to enter the compound.
“The United States violated the norms of international law and the basic principles of international relations, so China has the right to respond to protect its legitimate interests,” Wang explained.
The American consulate in Chengdu had been opened in 1985. Four other consulates of the North American country are located in the cities of Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai and Shenyang.