China said Wednesday that the U.S. has ordered it to close its consulate in Houston in what an official called an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage China-U.S. relations. “The unilateral closure of China’s consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China,” Wang said at a daily news briefing. Media reports in Houston said that authorities had responded to reports of a fire at the consulate. Witnesses said that people were burning paper in what appeared to be trash cans, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing police. Chief editor of the state-run media Global Times, Hu Xijin, has tweeted that: "The US asked China to close Consulate General in Houston in 72 hours.

Source: The Standard July 22, 2020 08:14 UTC