US federal agents and local law enforcement officials infiltrated a Chinese diplomatic facility in Houston, Texas. This is reported by the American media. They claim that the officials acted "on the basis of the July 21 order to close the PRC consulate" in this city of the United States.

“In front of the crowd of observers and reporters with television cameras following the development of events, several black SUVs, trucks, two white vans, as well as a locksmith's car drove into the territory of the diplomatic facility,” the American television channel CNN describes what is happening.

In turn, the international agency Reuters provided photographs confirming that the door of the Chinese consulate was broken into by a group of people in plain clothes a few hours after Chinese diplomats vacated the building. According to journalists, the individuals were accompanied by a man who resembled Cliff Seagroves, a senior State Department official who is responsible for working with foreign diplomatic missions. At the same time, it is noted that after the penetration of a group of people into the consulate, the guard of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the US State Department was posted near the entrance to the building. According to the agency, the service staff refused to introduce themselves to the journalists, as did the group of people who broke into the door of the PRC diplomatic facility.

The day before, American officials told reporters that the Chinese Consulate in Houston was suspected of illegal activities in one of the Texas research institutes. According to officials, Chinese diplomats allegedly "were directly involved in communicating with the researchers and instructing them what information should be collected."

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnani told reporters that the move to close the PRC Consulate General in Houston was taken "to protect Americans," "American intellectual property and private information" of US citizens.

“The CCP (Communist Party of China - RT ) has been engaging Chinese society in efforts to steal American technology and intellectual property for commercial gain for years, and this has often been led by diplomatic agencies in the PRC. We urge the CCP to stop these malicious acts and not retaliate with punitive sanctions, ”said Makenani.

  • Chinese Consulate General Building in Houston, July 22, 2020
  • Reuters
  • © Adrees Latif

At the same time, the press secretary of the White House categorically refused to answer the question of journalists about why the closure of the consulate in Houston was ordered now, about 100 days before the election, given that the accusations of the American side against China regarding the theft of intellectual property not new. "

"During the briefing, I will not provide any additional information regarding our intelligence," - said a spokesman for the White House.

Diplomatic scandal

We will remind, on July 21, the United States demanded from China to close the consulate general located in Texas. The US authorities gave Beijing 72 hours to do this. 

“On July 21, the United States launched a one-sided provocation, sharply demanding that China close the Consulate General in Houston. The actions of the United States seriously violated international law, the basic norms of international relations and the terms of the Sino-American Consular Convention. This seriously damaged China-US relations, ”reads a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website.

In response to Washington's actions, the Chinese authorities demanded that the American side close the US Consulate General in the city of Chengdu, located in the southwest of China. 

At the same time, unlike its American colleagues, Beijing, instead of aggressive actions against the diplomatic property of another country, provided the necessary level of security around the facility, Reuters reports.

“The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to an unjustified US move. It complies with international law, basic norms of international relations and established diplomatic practice, ”the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It also points out that "the current state of Sino-American relations does not meet China's wishes, and the United States is fully responsible for this."

“We again call on the United States to immediately abandon its wrong decision and create the necessary conditions for the normalization of bilateral relations,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed.

"Deliberately escalate the situation"

According to analysts, the actions of the American side related to the closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston are "part of the planned aggressive US anti-Chinese campaign."

As Pavel Podlesny, head of the Center for Russian-American Relations at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted, the United States “traditionally does not differ in correct behavior” when it comes to diplomatic property of other countries on their territory. He compared the breaking into the doors of the PRC consulate in Houston with the actions of the American authorities with respect to Russian diplomatic property in April 2018. Then the Russian Embassy in the United States announced the fact of the penetration of the US special services into the territory of the closed residence of the Consul General in Seattle and attempts to break into the building's front door.

  • Chinese Consulate General in Houston, July 24, 2020
  • AFP
  • © Mark Felix

"Now we are observing the same unceremonious actions by Washington with regard to the diplomatic property of China, as it did two years ago with respect to the diplomatic property of the Russian Federation," Podlesny recalled.

According to the expert, now a diplomatic war is going on between the United States and China, which was started by Washington.

“An even more serious confrontation is unfolding between the parties. By its actions, the United States is deliberately aggravating the already difficult situation around the relations between the two countries. At present, the American authorities are focused on doing the most harm to the PRC, "the expert explained.

Podlesny emphasized that the aggravation of relations with Beijing is beneficial to the incumbent President Donald Trump, who "made playing the" Chinese card "a top priority in his election campaign.

"The head of the White House, shortly before the presidential elections, is extremely important to show China and his electorate who is the boss in the system of international relations," the analyst explained.

Political scientist Alexander Asafov adheres to a similar point of view. In his opinion, as part of the election race, Trump abandoned the strategy of focusing on internal problems, in particular on the state of the American economy.

“The change of course took place as the economic successes that the American leader so often liked to report on have dissolved due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now he has nothing to brag about. Moreover, in the United States, social problems have seriously aggravated, protests against racism and police violence do not subside. Therefore, now the main theme of his election campaign is the fight against the external enemy in the person of the PRC. Trump wants to prove that only he and his team can effectively counter such an external "threat" as China, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

Moreover, “this campaign needs concrete action,” therefore Washington took measures regarding the Chinese diplomatic property, Asafov explained.

“At the same time, as an excuse for its steps, the White House puts forward the old assertion that China is allegedly stealing US intellectual property. Washington has been using this pretext for a long time, if it becomes necessary to take another anti-Chinese measure. But the evidence, as always, is not provided, ”the analyst said.

Experts agree that the escalation of the conflict between the United States and China will continue to grow until the presidential elections in November 2020.

“In the next 100 days, we will watch a show during which Washington will accuse Beijing of all the sins and threats to peace, and take some action against it. Naturally, China will be forced to react to this. As a result, the tension between the parties will only intensify, ”Asafov concluded.