200727 Chengdu
Chinese policemen prepare for duty around a neighbourhood sealed off before the official closure of the United States Consulate in Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan province, Monday, July 27, 2020. Image Credit: AP

Chengdu: The American flag was lowered at the United States consulate in Chengdu on Monday, days after Beijing ordered it to close in retaliation for the shuttering of the Chinese consulate in Houston.

Footage on state broadcaster CCTV from outside the consulate showed the flag being slowly brought down in the early morning, as diplomatic tensions soar between the two powers with both alleging the other has endangered national security.