According to State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, the United States said it ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close. Ortagus said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times: “The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior. President Trump insists on fairness and reciprocity in U.S.-China relations.”

“We have directed the closure of PRC consulate general Houston, in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.”

China called the closure “an unprecedented escalation” and said it would retaliate if the United States did not revoke the order.

A video sent to a local news station and posted on social media showed several open fire pits in the courtyard and what appear to be consulate staff.

Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pena told KTRK: “It appears to be open burning in a container within the courtyard of the Chinese consulate facility. It does not appear to be an unconfined fire but we have not been allowed access. We are standing by and monitoring.”

The closure of the consulate comes on the heels of an indictment of two Chinese nationals for a decade-long cyber espionage campaign. They were accused of stealing information on weapons designs, drug information, software source code, and personal data. The indictment is the latest in a vast, nationwide law enforcement campaign to counter the theft of U.S. intellectual property and other aspects of infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.

#China #US

Sign the Petition to Investigate, Condemn, and Reject the Chinese Communist Party👉 https://rejectccp.com

——————
SUBSCRIBE OUR CHANNEL TODAY:
🔔https://bit.ly/EpochSubs

WATCH MORE ON YOUTUBE
🔵[Exclusive investigative report] The first documentary movie on the origin of CCP virus
👉https://bit.ly/OriginOfVirus

🔵[Special Report] Manipulating America: The Chinese Communist Playbook
👉 https://bit.ly/ManipulatingAmerica

🔵New Documentary Exposing ‘the CCP Method’ | Three-step Method
👉https://bit.ly/TheCCPMethod

🔵Special Report Exploring the Pandemic’s Wall Street Connection
👉https://bit.ly/PandemicWallStreet

🔵 Investigative Report: The Coverup of the Century
👉 https://bit.ly/CoverupOfCentury