Chinese consulate in Houston a hub for spying: Mike Pompeo

New Delhi : The United States has surged its attack on China in last several weeks. In a latest, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has tagged the Chinese consulate in Houston as 'a hub for spying'.

“This week we closed down China’s consulate in Houston because it was a hub of spying and intellectual property theft,” Pompeo said during a speech in California.

This was the first major speech delivered by Pompeo after Washington’s surprise order this week for China to close its Houston consulate, where the US Secretary of State called for an end to “blind engagement” with China.

The remarks came after the US Justice Department said that the Chinese consulate in San Francisco is harbouring a harbouring a researcher who lied about her links with the country’s military. The justice department announced charges against that scientist and three others accused of concealing their government ties.

According to federal prosecutors quoted by CNN, the scientist Tang Juan is hiding in China’s consulate in San Francisco. Juan is a researcher who focuses on biology, the CNN reported.

She was charged with visa fraud on June 26.