An office at the American consulate general in Guangzhou has been closed indefinitely after an employee found some suspicious powder in an envelope.
"On Monday, we found an unidentified substance in an envelope and we are now carrying out an investigation," said a consulate employee who wished to remain anonymous. "The office which was affected is closed, but not all the consulate offices are closed," he added.
The envelope was found at the consular section at the Tianyu Garden Building in Tianhe district, which handles visa applications and provides assistance to US citizens in southern China, the employee revealed.
The unidentified powder was discovered "in an area not accessible to the public" and precautionary measures were taken, he said.
"The front-desk service is closed, but some teams still operate without going to the office," the employee said.