HOUSTON — The United States government has demanded that China shutter its Houston consulate in a move meant "to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information," a State Department spokeswoman confirmed early Wednesday.
According to The Associated Press, the news came hours after a fire was reported at the consulate building Tuesday. Witnesses alleged that the building's occupants were burning documents after being told to vacate the property by 4 p.m., police told the Houston Chronicle.
Also on Tuesday, the Justice Department claimed that Chinese hackers had worked on their government's behalf to target companies developing vaccines for the novel coronavirus, the Washington Post reported.
In her statement Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus did not directly mention the hacking allegation but said China "has engaged for years in massive illegal spying and influence operations throughout the United States against U.S. government officials and American citizens," the New York Times reported.
Ortagus also said the U.S. "will not tolerate the [People's Republic of China'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," according to the Post.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the decision to close the consulate was "an unprecedented escalation" against China and "an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage relations between the two countries," the AP reported. China will "react with firm countermeasures" if the U.S. refuses to reverse the decision, he added.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.