China tells U.S. to close consulate in Chengdu

China on Friday said it has ordered the United States to shutter its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, in response to the Trump administration telling China on Tuesday it had 72 hours to close its consulate in Houston.

U.S. officials accused China of using the Houston consulate to engage in economic espionage, allegations Beijing denied. The United States has five consulates in mainland China, and the Chengdu location is valuable for gaining information on Tibet and Xinjiang, two areas that have experienced security crackdowns, The New York Times reports.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Southern California, and said the United States "must admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want to have a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which [Chinese President] Xi Jinping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won't get it done. We must not continue it and we must not return to it."

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In response, Hua Chunying, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said Pompeo is "launching a new crusade against China in a globalized world. What he is doing is as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree."