China orders closure of US consulate in Chengdu

They close our consulate – we’ll shut theirs: as tensions between China and the United States escalate still further – Beijing has ordered the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu to shut down, accusing staff there of meddling in its affairs.

The move came hours after the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described China as “increasingly authoritarian” – declaring “the free world must triumph over this new tyranny”.

Our Washington correspondent Siobhan Kennedy reports.