BEIJING, China (NBC) – China’s foreign ministry is denying accusations that Chinese consulates and diplomats were involved in espionage.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson in a press conference in Beijing Friday said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s accusation against the Chinese (diplomatic and consular institutions and their personnel in the United States) is a kind of blatant and malicious slander.
In an interview with the New York Post Wednesday, Pompeo was quoted as saying China’s New York consulate was engaged in activities “where they’re crossing the line from normal diplomacy to the kinds of things that would be more akin to what spies are doing.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said China will make the necessary response according to the development of the situation.
In July, China ordered the United States to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades.
The move was a response to the Trump Administration’s order for Beijing to close its consulate in Houston after Washington accused Chinese agents of trying to steal medical and other research in Texas.
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