The deterioration of relations between China and the United States was enriched by a new episode, Wednesday July 22, with the closure by Washington, in Houston (Texas) of one of the five Chinese consulates present on American soil . An unprecedented measure since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1979.
The information first came from Beijing. As the fires of documents in the courtyard of the Texan complex raised questions in the United States, the editor of the nationalist daily Global TimesHu Xijin was the first to ensure on Twitter that Washington had given China three days to vacate the scene.
The official Chinese reaction was quick. “ The unilateral US decision to close the Houston consulate within a limited timeframe is an unprecedented escalation of recent US action against China “Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a daily press briefing.
US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus justified the decision “In order to protect American intellectual property and American private information”, implicating espionage activities long blamed in Beijing by Washington, all administrations combined.
“Firm countermeasures”
The Republican Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, a “hawk” in foreign policy, has considered that the Chinese consulate in Houston is “The heart of the Chinese Communist Party’s vast network of spies and influence operations [PCC] in the USA “. Its closure should have been decided ” since a long time “, he added.
This decision could lead in retaliation to the closure of the United States consulate in Wuhan, according to Reuters. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also announced “Firm countermeasures” in case Washington sticks to its decision.
The clash between the two superpowers, now described as a new cold war, continues to spread
Everything concurs to maintain this escalation. Economic weight, maritime ambitions, world supremacy for the fifth generation of mobile telephony standards (5G) and its incalculable applications: the clash between the two superpowers, now regularly described as a new cold war, continues to spread.
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