The closure of the US consulate in the Chengdu Consulate is ＂a real tragedy＂

Source: Voice of Germany

Jeff Moon (Jeff Moon) once served as the Consul General in Chengdu from 2003 to 2006. In an interview with the Voice of Germany, he regretted the closed hall of the Chengdu Consulate, thinking that the United States in the western region of Western China in the past 35 years in the past 35 yearsThe establishment of the establishment is destroyed in just a few days.

Voice of Germany: You used to be the Consul in Chengdu.After the United States demands that China closes the Consulate General in Houston, the US Consulate General in Chengdu has also been closed.Do you think this is just a comparative contest?

Murn: From the tactical perspective, this is a comparative contest.But from a wider perspective, this is a real tragedy.In 1985, the old Bush administration opened the Consulate General in Chengdu. The United States was established in the western region of western China in the past 35 years, and it was torn in the past few days.This will affect many people, including the United States and the Chinese people, including the two governments of the two countries.Chinese citizens in Chengdu and surrounding areas are sad because they can have visa to the United States at the Chengdu consulate or participate in some cultural exchange activities at the Chengdu consulate.This is also a big loss for the American people living in Chengdu, because they need to obtain consular services from the embassy and consulate.

These consular business is also important for China because China wants to attract more American companies to invest.The governments of the two countries will also suffer, because the embassies are usually the official exchanges between the competent country and the country, and the consulate is the institution that truly establishes contact and promote exchanges.I think the decision of China (closing the US Consulate in Chengdu) is a mistake, because the benefits of China from it are far more than the United States.China can almost enter American society without restrictions; but China has always spared no effort to limit the US diplomats in Chengdu to enter Chinese society in an unequal way.

Voice of Germany: So why do you think the Chinese government chooses to close the Chengdu consulate?Is there any specific factors that make this measure a peer counterattack measure against the Consulate of Houston?

Murn: In fact, China can have two choices.In addition to Chengdu, they can also choose to close the Wuhan consulate, the smallest embassy and consulate in China.It seems that the United States closed the Consulate General in Wuhan. The Chinese side closed the Consulate General in Houston and closed one. In fact, these embassies and consulates in China are sorted. The status of the Consulate General of Chengdu is higher than Wuhan.Therefore, I think that the US government has correctly interpreted the meaning of the Chinese side. This is not a simple closure of a consulate, but an upgrade of disputes.China cannot resist the impulse of nationalism and adopts such a response.But as I said, I think they will regret it.

Voice of Germany: But you know that before that, the US State Department's statement last week basically announced the end of contact with China. This policy was the foundation of the United States and China relations in the past half a century.From this perspective, can we say that China and the United States have entered a new cold war?

Murn: The US -China relations must be in the ice period, but I don't think we can call it the Cold War.In my opinion, the kind of cold war between the United States and the former Soviet Union did not exist now.For example, there was no economic exchanges between the United States and the former Soviet Union at that time.However, the relationship between us and China is so intertwined. Although the Trump administration wants to make the two countries decompose, it is extremely difficult to achieve this.You know that there is a theory circulating on Washington, thinking that the Trump administration is because of the poor prospects of this election, so it will be decoupled between the two countries before the election.

Voice of Germany: After the US election, whether this decourse process will continue, we will wait and see.Thank you for your interview.

Murn: Thank you.