American envoys have to ask permission from authorities to meet with officials, visit universities
\nnews agency
\nBEIJING
\nChina will deliver \u201ca proper and necessary\u201d response to new curbs by the State Department on its envoys to the United States, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
\nAmerica\u2019s top diplomat Mike Pompeo introduced the restrictions on Wednesday, including mandating Chinese diplomats to seek approval to visit universities or meet with local officials.
\nHe said the measures were a counterpoint to long-established controls imposed on US diplomats in China.
\nAmerican envoys have to ask permission from authorities to meet with officials, conduct outreach or even visit universities.
\nA US Embassy spokesman in Beijing said permission is \u201croutinely denied\u201d, or cancelled at the last minute.
\nUnapproved travel to Tibet is also off-limits.
\nThe two countries are locked in a rancourous power struggle over trade, security and tech, while relations have been further poisoned by the coronavirus and rights issues from Hong Kong to the Uighur minority in Xinjiang.
\nA Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing on Thursday warned of \u201ca proper and necessary response\u201d to the ramped-up restrictions on its envoys.
\nThe curbs on Chinese diplomats are \u201ca serious violation of the international law and the basic norms of international relations\u201d, Hua Chunying told reporters.
\nPompeo\u2019s latest measures mean China\u2019s diplomats in the US will also have to seek approval for any cultural event outside embassy or consulate properties involving more than 50 people.
\nAdditionally, embassy social media accounts will have to be identified as accounts of the Chinese government.
\nThe US Embassy spokesman told AFP the US was not mirroring \u201cevery aspect of China\u2019s severe constraints\u201d.
\nStill, the moves will likely dial up diplomatic hostilities between the nations.
\nIn July the US ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close, prompting Beijing to shutter the American mission in Chengdu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
American envoys have to ask permission from authorities to meet with officials, visit universities news agency BEIJING China will deliver \u201ca proper and necessary\u201d response to new curbs by the State Department on its envoys to the United States, the foreign ministry said Thursday. America\u2019s top diplomat Mike Pompeo introduced the restrictions on Wednesday, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-142321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n