The Chinese authorities have decided to stop the work of the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu (capital of Sichuan province) in response to the closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston. Possible measures revealed South China Morning Post, citing senior sources.
The closure of the diplomatic mission in Chengdu can be a painful blow for us-Chinese relations. The Consulate operates since 1985 and is located in a strategically important place: it is the only American representation among the South-Western provinces.
Beijing initially wanted to close the American mission in Wuhan, however, this step did not cause serious damage to US and so have evacuated the entire staff in January 2020, when the pandemic COVID-19. On 22 July it became known that Washington may fail to resume the work of the Consulate in Wuhan. For these reasons, in Beijing and came up with a new response — to stop the work of the Consulate in Chengdu.
The US has an Embassy in Beijing and consulates in Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang.
July 22, Reuters noted that China is allegedly considering the possibility of closing the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan. Thus Beijing was going to respond to the American decision about the termination of the diplomatic mission of China in Houston.
Shortly thereafter, in the Internet appeared the frames that show the back yard of the Consulate General, his staff set fire to several trash cans, presumably full of documents.
