BEIJING: China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu, responding to a US demand for China to close its Houston consulate, as relations between the world's two largest economies deteriorate.
The order to close the consulate in Chengdu, in southwestern China's Sichuan province, continued Beijing's recent practice of like-for-like responses to US actions.
China had warned it would retaliate after it was this week given 72 hours - until Friday - to vacate its consulate in the Texas city, and had urged the United States to reconsider.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated sharply this year over issues ranging from trade and technology to the novel coronavirus, China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its clampdown on Hong Kong.
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said some Chengdu consulate personnel were "conducting activities not in line with their identities" and had interfered in China's affairs and harmed China's security interests, but he did not say how. Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who is also foreign minister, blamed Washington for the deterioration in ties.
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