Chinese Special Forces Break into US Consulate in Chengdu

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said today that the relevant authorities in China entered the US consulate building in Chengdu city.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the ministry, pointed out that this step came in response to the US police storming the Chinese consulate in Houston.

He added in a statement Monday that the entry of representatives of the relevant authorities in China to the US consulate building in Chengdu, and taking the building under their administration, is a response to the illegal intrusion of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston by the US police.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced earlier today the closure of the American consulate in Chengdu, in the southwest of the country.

On Saturday, Beijing expressed its protest against the storming of its consulate in Houston, after the Chinese diplomats left the consulate building.

Last Thursday, news agencies reported that a group of men smashed the back door of the closed Chinese consulate building in Houston, USA.

The agencies stated that people who appeared to be US officials were equipped with electronic tools and levers that they used to remove the consulate's back door.

The news agencies reported that the US officials refused to answer questions from journalists who were at the place about their identity. But the reporters indicated that the same group was seen during the closing of the front door of the consulate.

The United States government had previously announced that it had asked the Chinese authorities to shut down its consulate in Houston, saying that this decision, which was implemented earlier Friday, was taken "to protect American intellectual property and the personal data of Americans.

In response to the move, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that it had informed the US embassy in Beijing of the need to close its consulate in Chengdu, southwest China.

The relations between China and the United States are witnessing continuous tension, which escalated in the past months against the backdrop of several issues, chief among them the Coronavirus pandemic, the Hong Kong issue, trade disputes, the issue of energy fields in the South China Sea, and the issue of human rights in Chinese lands, especially the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said today, Monday, that the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu closed its doors at ten in the morning.

On Friday, China ordered the closure of this consulate in response to the US decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston.

These developments come in light of the strained relations between the two countries, due to the trade war and the exchange of accusations of responsibility for the outbreak of the "COVID-19".

The American Consulate was established in Chengdu, China, in 1985, and it covers American citizens in southwest China, especially the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier that the decision to close the US consulate was a legitimate and necessary response to irrational American actions.

China responded to US President Donald Trump's threat again to cut ties with it, by asserting that any steps by Washington in this way would not be in the interests of the United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said during a press briefing that the unilateral disengagement between the two countries and changing economic laws in the United States is neither a realistic nor a wise choice.

The spokesman warned that such a move by the Trump administration will not solve the problems existing in the United States, but rather harm the Americans.

This came in response to Trump's announcement yesterday that the option of "fully disengaging" with Beijing is still on the table in his administration, against the backdrop of allegations made in the new book of the former National Security Adviser at the White House, John Bolton, that Trump asked China to help him win.