On July 21st, the United States (U.S.) abruptly ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas. A State Department spokesperson alleged the order was enforced as part of a move against a larger Chinese espionage effort using diplomatic facilities around the U.S. On July 27th, China ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in Chengdu in response to the U.S.’s move.

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo cited "stealing US intellectual property" as the reason for the US closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston. In fact, a day before the U.S. ordered the closure, two Chinese nationals were charged for their alleged involvement in a massive global hacking operation that targeted hundreds of companies and governments for more than a decade. As the Texas Medical Center which is the world’s largest medical center and the National Aeronautics and Space Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are located in Houston, the city is a significant symbol of intellectual property. Also located in Houston, the Chinese Consulate General is the first established consulate in the U.S. since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China started in 1979

In response, China strongly protested that the U.S. violated international law and damaged U.S.-China relations. China also ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan Province which is the same action that the U.S. has done. The U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu had jurisdiction over Tibet, meaning the U.S. diplomats were the only diplomats allowed in and out of the Tibet Autonomous Region without permission from the Chinese government. As a result, the only Chinese consulate in the southern America and the only American consulate in the western China have closed officially.

Tyson Chatagnier (Prof. of Political Science, University of Houston) said, “Closing Consulates is an escalatory measure. Therefore, demanding that a country close its embassy is a sort of diplomatic shot across the bow. It is meant to signal public displeasure and to take a further step toward the chilling of relations. To some extent, we can think of it as a form of brinkmanship.”

By Lee Dong-Kyu, Reporter

goldenegg@pusan.ac.kr