China, Where Are the Retaliatory Consulates... US Consulates General in Hong Kong and Chengdu

Chinese Global Times Editor-in-Chief: Hong Kong Consulate with Over 1,000 Staff Should Be Reduced Due to Severe Hardship
Hong Kong SCMP Reports Likely Closure of US Chengdu Consulate Covering Tibet Autonomous Region

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] There have been claims that China should reduce the US consulate in Hong Kong as a retaliatory measure against the closure of the Houston Consulate General.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese state-run Global Times, posted on Chinese social media on the 23rd that China is likely to respond with measures that inflict greater pain on the US.

He wrote, "The US has over 1,000 staff at the Hong Kong consulate," adding, "What all these people are doing is clearly an intelligence center." He also said, "Reducing the number of personnel at the Hong Kong consulate to 100 or 200 could be one of many options China can use."

This is because the Wuhan US consulate, currently being discussed for closure, was temporarily evacuated in January at the request of the US side when COVID-19 broke out, so Hu believes that closing the Wuhan consulate would not cause much pain to the US. He explained that reducing the Hong Kong consulate, which employs over 1,000 people, would cause greater pain to the US side.

The US has consulates general in five locations in China: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Shenyang.

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the same day that the Chinese government is highly likely to close the US Consulate General in Chengdu, which opened in 1985. This consulate oversees Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing, and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Wang Wenbin (汪文斌), spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, previously warned, "In terms of the number of missions and diplomatic consulates alone, the US side has far more than China," adding, "The US should not shoot itself in the foot."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.