‘Where’s the proof?’ China’s consul general in Houston says US spying claims further damage relations
- US state department says order to close consulate was to ‘protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information’
- Refer to American rule of law and act based on facts, Cai Wei tells US media when talking of surprise at consulate closure
China’s consul general in Houston, Texas, said the forced closure of his country’s diplomatic compound by Washington was yet another move that would be “damaging” to already fraying US-China relations.
“I never expected [to be] treated like this,” Cai told local broadcaster ABC13 from inside the consulate general building. “We are coming for friendship and for mutual understanding between China and the United States.”
What started as a sharp escalation of trade disputes two years ago has now spread into arguments involving human rights, the Hong Kong protests, Taiwan’s status and technology espionage. Chinese and US warships are also increasingly facing off in the South China Sea in territorial disputes in that region.
On Wednesday, the US state department said the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston was to “protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information”.
In a separate statement it said China “has engaged for years in massive illegal spying and influence operations” and that those “activities have increased markedly in scale and scope over the past few years”.