China foreign ministry says US claim that Houston consulate steals IP is slander

As US gives China 72 hours to close the consulate to protect intellectual property and Americans’ private information

BEIJING:

US allegations that China’s consulate in Houston is stealing intellectual property are malicious slander, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

The United States said on Wednesday it had given China 72 hours to close the consulate “to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information”, prompting Chinese threats of retaliation.

When asked about reports that a Chinese researcher accused of visa fraud and concealing ties to the military was now holed up in China’s consulate in San Francisco, Wang, speaking at a daily news conference in Beijing, said that China urged the United States to stop using any excuse to limit, harass or crack down on Chinese scholars in the country.