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Vehicles pass by the China Consulate General in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 22, 2020. Image Credit: Reuters

Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the Chinese consulate in Houston which Washington has ordered shut was a centre for espionage and operations to illegally obtain US companies’ trade secrets.

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

“China ripped off our prized intellectual property and trade secrets costing millions of jobs across America,” he said.