US imposes new restrictions on Chinese diplomats

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced that the Department of State will now require senior PRC diplomats in the United States to receive approval to visit US university campuses and to meet with local government officials.

"The Department of State will now require senior PRC (People's Republic of China) diplomats in the United States to receive approval to visit U.S. university campuses and to meet with local government officials. Cultural events with an audience larger than 50 people hosted by the PRC embassy and consular posts outside of mission properties will also require Department of State approval," Pompeo said.

"The Department of State will also take action to help ensure that all official PRC embassy and consular social media accounts are properly identified as PRC government accounts, since the US Embassy is denied unfettered access to PRC social media and PRC citizens are blocked from using Twitter and Facebook, amongst other social media platforms," he said.

Relations between the US and China have worsened in recent times with the two countries sparring over a range of issues including China's territorial aggression in the South China Sea.

Pompeo said the US insists on reciprocal access to educational and cultural institutions for the United States diplomats around the world.

"These new requirements on PRC diplomats are a direct response to the excessive restraints already placed on our diplomats by the PRC, and they aim to provide further transparency on the practices of the PRC government. Should the PRC eliminate the restrictions imposed on US diplomats, we stand ready to reciprocate," he said.

The US Secretary of State stressed that for years, China has imposed significant barriers on American diplomats working in the PRC that are far beyond diplomatic norms.

"PRC authorities implement a system of opaque approval processes designed to prevent American diplomats from conducting regular business and connecting with the Chinese people. US diplomats' attempts to host cultural events, secure official meetings, and visit university campuses are regularly obstructed," he said.

Pompeo said, in the United States, by contrast, PRC diplomats have enjoyed open access to American society, while ignoring sustained US entreaties to improve the balance.

"In response to the PRC's longstanding restrictions on US diplomats and refusal to engage in good faith on fundamental matters of reciprocity and mutual respect, the Department of State is compelled to impose certain new requirements on PRC diplomats," he said.

Recently, the US had asked China to close its consulate general in Houston. China retaliated by ordering the US to close its consulate general in Chengdu.

( With inputs from ANI )