Four things to know about the U.S. decision to close the Chinese consulate in Houston

The United States has ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston to close by Friday afternoon. This move, the Trump administration’s latest, could make it harder to repair the U.S.-China rift, writes Jessica Chen Weiss, associate professor of government, in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

“China has already vowed to retaliate,” she writes in the piece. “What does this mean for U.S.-China relations? The consulate closure is a major step that puts greater pressure on the already-tense relationship between the two countries. But this is not all about geopolitics — the escalating rift may also reflect election-year politics.”

Read the story in the Washington Post.