Pictures from the Chinese state television company CCTV show how the American flag is slowly being lowered at the consulate early on Monday morning, local time. The road to the building is blocked and guarded by police.

Beijing later confirmed that the consulate had closed on Monday morning (local time) and that Chinese authorities had "taken over".

Response to US closure

The closure is China's response to the US order last week to block the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. The United States has accused two Chinese of hacking hundreds of companies and trying to steal corona vaccine research, and in a speech on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese consulate was a "hub for espionage and theft of intellectual property."

China responded quickly by ordering the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in Sichuan province in southwest China on Friday. The consulates of the two great powers were closed 72 hours after the news came and the American employees at the consulate had to pack their things during the weekend.

All American signs and emblems have been removed from the building.

"Threatens China's Security"

The closure of the consulate is "a legitimate and necessary response to the irrational measures taken by the United States," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The American staff at the Chengdu consulate has interfered in China's internal affairs and has threatened China's security and interests," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Tensions between the United States and China have increased in several ways in recent times, including trade and China's handling of the coronavirus.