Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying attends a news conference in Beijing, China, on July 17, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)
The Chinese embassy in Washington has received "bomb and death threats" as tensions soar following a moratorium for Beijing to close its diplomatic mission in the US city of Houston, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Hua Chunying blamed the threats on the US governments smear campaign against Beijing.
"As a result of smears & hatred fanned up by the #US gov, the Chinese embassy has received #bomb & #DeathThreats," she wrote in a post on Twitter, providing no further details about the threats and the designation of individuals affected by the threats.
As a result of smears & hatred fanned up by the #US gov, the Chinese embassy has received #bomb & #DeathThreats.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) July 22, 2020
The Donald Trump administration has given China 72 hours to close down its consulate in Houston allegedly to protect “American intellectual property” and their private information.
In some other tweets on Wednesday, Hua lambasted the move and urged the US to revoke the "erroneous decision." She also vowed Beijing would surely react with "firm countermeasures."
The #US should revoke its erroneous decision. China will surely react with firm #countermeasures.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) July 22, 2020
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also rejected the US accusations of China’s spying and said, “Infiltration & interference is never in the genes & tradition of Chinas foreign policy."
“While Chinese diplomats are promoting mutual understanding and friendship, the US embassy in China publicly attacks Chinas political system,” she said.
#Infiltration & #interference is never in the genes & tradition of Chinas #ForeignPolicy. While Chinese diplomats are promoting mutual understanding & friendship, the #US embassy in China publicly attacks Chinas political system.
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) July 22, 2020
Trump warns of more closures
At a White House news conference on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said it was "always possible" he would order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the country.
Trump claimed that a fire had been spotted on the Houston consulates grounds after the Department of State announced the closure, saying, "I guess they were burning documents and burning papers."
In a statement released on Thursday morning, the Chinese embassy in Washington accused the US of "groundless fabrications" about the actions of Chinas diplomatic missions and called on the Trump administration to "immediately revoke this erroneous decision.”
"Its time to step on the brakes and return to the right direction!" the embassy posted separately on its official Twitter account.
Washington has long claimed that alleged theft of American and European intellectual property by China has cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Consulate shutdown a Trump election gambit: Media
The Chinese state media said in editorials published on Thursday that the move by the US government to close Chinas consulate in Houston was an attempt to blame Beijing for American failures ahead of presidential elections in November.
The official English-language newspaper China Daily censured the move as "a new gambit in the US administrations bid to paint China as a malevolent actor on the world stage, and thus make it an outlaw to the international community."
"The move shows that lagging behind his presidential election opponent in the polls... the US leader is going all out in his attempts to portray China as an agent of evil," the paper added.
The Global Times, an English-language tabloid run by the Communist Partys Peoples Daily newspaper, also accused Trump of playing politics.
"The November presidential election is driving Washington mad," it said.
Relations between the United States and China have plunged to their lowest level in decades.
The two are at loggerheads over a range of issues, including trade, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the coronavirus pandemic.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/19608
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