The United States consulate in Chengdu, China, closed on Monday morning, with the lowering of the American flag, AP reported. This came after Beijing ordered US officials to vacate its premises within 72 hours. The Chinese order was issued on July 24, in retaliation to a US order to close the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas.
The American flag was lowered at 6.24 am local time on Monday (3.54 am Indian Standard Time). Side streets as well as a main road leading to the consulate were cordoned off, with dozens of police personnel guarding the intersections, the South China Morning Post reported. But many people lingered at the intersection, taking photographs of the blocked roads and the crowd.
There was a festive atmosphere outside the consulate almost as soon as Beijing issued orders for the US officials to leave. People travelled from far-off places in China to take photos, videos and selfies.
One of the owners of an ice jelly stall near the consulate said sales had doubled. “I can sell about 300 bowls of ice jelly now,” Tang said. “People have even flown from Xian [in the northwest] or Hainan [China’s southernmost island] to be part of this event.” But a man who tried to unfurl a large placard, calling it an open letter to the Chinese government, was taken away by police personnel.
The consulate was opened in 1985 and has around 200 employees. Around 150 of these are local hires. On Sunday night, a crane entered the consulate’s compound and hoisted a container onto a large truck, Reuters reported.
Washington and Beijing have engaged in a trade war over the last few years. Relations between the United States and China continue to worsen amid the coronavirus pandemic, as US President Donald Trump has blamed Beijing for the outbreak of the virus. The US and China have also clashed over Beijing’s move to enforce stricter controls in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
On July 24, China had said that the closing of the Chengdu consulate was necessary. “The current situation in Chinese-US relations is not what China desires to see,” the Chinese foreign ministry had said in a statement. “The United States is responsible for all this. We once again urge the United States to immediately retract its wrong decision [to close the Houston consulate] and create necessary conditions for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track.”
The US government had said that it had closed the Chinese consulate in Houston to protect American intellectual property and information, calling the building a “nest of spies” that tried to steal data from facilities in Texas. China had called the order an “unprecedented escalation” and accused the US of harassing Chinese diplomats and consular staff.
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