US lowers its flag as consulate shuts in Chengdu, leaves Internet divided over whom to blame for bad relations
Internet is flooding with reactions after the US lowered its flag and China took control of the US consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu on July 27. Some are calling it another milestone in deterioration of trade relations between the two powers while others are blaming the two powers over the Covid-19 crises.
"A chapter in the trade war against China. The US has officially completed the closure of its Consulate General in the city of Chengdu (China) on Monday, complying with the order of Beijing in a response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston," tweeted a user. A huge crowd gathered near the consulate in Chengdu to see the historic closure. "Large numbers of police kept them from getting too close, put a quick stop to any provocative gestures or obvious signs of joy as Americans left," tweeted a user.
'Pretty classic American reaction'
The closing of the US consulate comes after America forced the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston. It is the US that made the first move. While some are proud of the move, others allude it to the fact that Americans are used to victimizing themselves. "We acted first and then get mad when retaliation happens. We're always the victim," tweeted a user.
"Well I don’t think we are angry at all about a consulate closing in China. China’s Houston location was loaded with spies and stealing intellectual property including the covid vaccine info. Time to shut China down on lots of issues," tweeted another user appreciating America’s move on closing the Chinese consulate first. "When China has a consulate in the US, it's 'spying'. When the US has a consulate in China, it's 'gathering information'. So simple!" said a Twitter user backing China over US.
Another user called the US' move laughable. "US is furious about important information always being stolen, not mad at having to move out from Chengdu. US should find this retaliation laughable. A thief gets caught from stealing and does something to punish the one he steals from," he tweeted.
Who is to blame?
While notable personalities blamed Trump for mishandling the coronavirus crises that has jeopardized the US with the highest viral load in the world, others blamed China for its spread.
"One of these trajectories is not like the others. Is it Trump's fault? Of course: pandemic response is heavily dependent on presidential leadership, and Trump has been a malign influence every step of the way 1/," tweeted Nobel laureate Paul Krugman. He also mentioned how it's not only Trump alone who is to be held responsible for crises but also Republican governors who played crucial dire roles. He also tweeted how "Ron DeSantis killed a lot of Floridians" and shared a Washington Post article titled 'Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump’.
But still, many folks are convinced that China must be responsible for not containing the spread of the virus. "Remember it’s exponential growth! WHO and China must be hold accountable for knowingly hiding truth when the spreading was geographically limited and number of cases was low. That was the time to act. Having said that, after it’s imported then buck stops with the leadership," tweeted a user.