China's mouthpiece digs up 'expert' from Pakistan to outrage over US closing its embassy

Chinese government's mouthpiece People's Daily on Thursday slammed the United States' decision to close Beijing's Consulate General in Houston. Citing various "experts and scholars", the newspaper said that the move by Trump administration is a unilateral political provocation by the United States, which seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations, undermines Sino-US relations, and is not conducive to world political stability and economic recovery.

In a Facebook post, People's daily quoted Hussein Ismail, a researcher at the Political Academy of the Egyptian News Agency saying that America's move is  "destruction of US-China's relations"

'A serious impact on world politics and economics'

Mher Sahakyan, founder and director of the China-Eurasia Council for Political and Strategic Research in Armenia, said that the United States’ approach will not help resolve any problems. "On the contrary, it will further aggravate tensions between the two countries. The continued deterioration of US relations with China will have a serious impact on world politics and economy," he said. 

The Communist Party's mouthpiece also a scholar from its 'all-weather' ally Pakistan who called America's decision "shocking" and said that it will make people "worry about where the US will take the world."

"The US's sudden request for China to close its consulate in Houston completely violated diplomatic norms and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and should be condemned," the mouthpiece quoted Ali Sarwar Naqvi, executive director at the Islamabad-based Center for International Strategic Studies in Pakistan as saying.

"Vladimir Wallia, an international relations expert at the Ukrainian Institute of Political Science, believes that the US is trying to use the "Chinese card" to serve domestic politics. The US pressure on China has caused damage to relations between the two countries and also affected the recovery of the world economy," the newspapers said.

READ | Donald Trump hints at closing more Chinese embassies after US shuts down Houston consulate

Further angering China, Trump on Wednesday said that his administration does not rule out closing additional Chinese diplomatic missions in the country. America's decision came hours after Houston police and firefighters descended on the Houston consulate following witness reports that papers were being burned outside in open containers, the Houston Chronicle and two local TV stations reported, citing local police.

READ | US gives China 72 hours to shut Houston Consulate General; accounts claim docs being burnt

'I wonder what that is all about'

"As far as closing additional embassies, it's always possible. We thought there was a fire in the one we did close, I guess they were burning documents and papers. I wonder what that is all about," Trump said during a daily press briefing at the White House when asked if he planned to close more Chinese diplomatic missions in the country.

READ | Chinese envoy on closure of Houston consulate: ‘Impolite not to make a return’

Reacting strongly to the US move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin termed it as an "unprecedented escalation and warned retaliatory measures. "China demands the US revoke the wrong decision. If the US went ahead, China would take necessary countermeasures, he warned. Wang also said the Chinese embassy and consulates in the US had received both explosives and death threats recently.

READ | Irate China 'getting bomb threats'; will take 'firm countermeasures' as US shuts consulate