United States consulate officially lowers flag as it closes down in Chengdu
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Alaina
- . July 28, 2020
- . Update: July 28, 2020 12:26 am
Chinese governments have taken control over the United States consulate general in Chengdu, signaling an official closure to diplomatic missions between the world’s biggest economies. The American flag outside the consulate was brought down on Monday.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the consulate over the weekend, waving the Chinese flag and taking selfies. The police were trying to control the immense crowd.
On Saturday, the US insignia was brought down, whereas, on Sunday, evacuation work with the loading of shipping containers started as staff prepared for the consulate office building to be shut.
Strains amid the two nations over trade and the COVID19 outbreak extended at a new level when on Tuesday the US ordered China to shut their consulate in Houston, Texas, blaming Beijing for utilizing it as a center point of intellectual property crime.
According to CNN, as a counter-retaliation, Beijing ordered the US government to close its consulate in Chengdu, China. The Chinese government gave the Americans 72-hour time to shut their Chengdu office.
The US has four consulate offices in China, in Wuhan, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenyang, and an embassy in Beijing. Both nations’ closing each other’s consulate is, however, displays the biggest threat in years to the already strained relationship between China and the US.
