U.S. decision to close Chinese consulate "unambiguously hegemonic behavior" -- Kyrgyz expert

The U.S. decision to close the Chinese Consulate General in Houston is an "unambiguously hegemonic behavior," a Kyrgyz expert has told Xinhua.

The decision is an attempt to show that Washington is always right, and that there must be only the U.S. point of view in the world, with those who do not agree with this point of view being "not just an enemy of the American people, but almost the threat to the entire world," political analyst Igor Shestakov said.

"The U.S. demonstrated that it does not want to see Chinese diplomats by accusing them groundlessly of some illegal actions," he said, adding Washington has launched a diplomatic war against Beijing.

Calling Washington's decision the latest move of a consistent chain of actions to discriminate against China, Shestakov noted that the U.S. administration has been purposefully shaping China as an enemy since the very beginning of this year, "exerting unprecedented pressure on Beijing."

"First (it) was Hong Kong, then the situation with the coronavirus, where the United States tried to present China as the country that almost launched the coronavirus process, again without having any evidence," he said.

By making such groundless accusations against China on COVID-19, Washington is trying to shift the blame on the Chinese leadership, although many U.S. experts have pointed out that Washington "took decisive actions to localize the coronavirus in the United States too late," he said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. side abruptly requested the Chinese side to close its Consulate General in Houston, the first consulate set up by China in the United States after the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin rebuked the move as a serious breach of international law and basic norms governing international relations, as well as the bilateral consular agreement.

(XINHUA)