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Some quick reactions to the US decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston: 1. Unless more evidence is forthcoming, this looks like a stepped up effort to use China as the bogeyman and distract U.S. voters from the Trump administration's disastrous response to the pandemic
2. If the consulate has been engaged in "massive illegal spying and influence operations,” why was the announcement so thin on detail? Why did we not learn that the consulate had been warned previously to stop, and when they did not, this was the punishment meted out?
Stillwell's suggestion that the consulate has been helping students steal from US universities and other "subversive behavior" is patchy. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/world/asia/us-china-houston-consulate.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
3. How will the Chinese government react to what it has already called an "unprecedented" "political provocation"? So far, China has responded in kind to each of the Trump administration's actions with a tit-for-tat response, so we are likely to see a continued race to the bottom
4. Because the United States has less access in China than China has to the United States, reciprocity can hurt the United States more than China. Now, more than ever, U.S. policymakers and voters must be wary of a "pyrrhic victory" https://supchina.com/2020/06/29/no-beijing-consensus-the-u-s-risks-a-pyrrhic-victory/
5. The last thing we need as our country struggles with a once-in-a-century pandemic is an all-out confrontation with China. /fin
