China retaliates against Houston consulate closure by shuttering US embassy in Chengdu

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ordered the US consulate in Chengdu to close in response to the US evicting the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. The State Department announced that the Houston consulate had acted as a "massive illegal spying and influence operations throughout the United States against the US government officials and American citizens."

Geeta Mohan, foreign editor of India Today, broke the news of the closure. "#Breaking China has ordered the #US to shut its #consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in retaliation for the closure of #China's Consulate General in Houston, @MFA_China."

China's move to shut down the Chengdu consulate may affect the ability of the US to keep tabs on Tibet. Beijing claims the Tibet for China, while Tibetans have advocated for their independence from Chinese authority.

Mohan wrote "the #US consulate in Chengdu, #China covering consul affairs in several provinces and regions including Tibet Autonomous Region. Very important message from China after all the moves on #Tibet by the US govt."

While the US gave Chinese officials 72 hours to vacate the property in Houston, China's approach to the removal of US diplomats came as China pulled the license for the Chengdu consulate. That seat of diplomacy has been in place since 1985, according to AFP News.

The Chinese foreign ministry claimed that this closure was in direction retaliation to the US' actions in Texas, and that it was "legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable measures by the United States."

The US has not officially responded to the news of the US consulate being closed down.