The order will likely mean the viral video service could no longer receive advertising from American companies and the app could be removed from Apple and Google’s app stores. This move puts pressure on the Chinese- owned app to sell its US assets to an American company.

The ban marks a significant escalation by Trump in his confrontation with Beijing as the US seeks to curb China’s power in global technology. With the US election less than 90 days away, Trump is making his challenge of China a central theme of his campaign, where he faces Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, who has locked horns with China on a range of issues including trade and coronavirus pandemic, has set a deadline of mid-september for Tik Tok to be acquired by a US firm or be banned in the United States.

Microsoft has expanded its talks on TikTok to a potential deal that would include buying the global operations of the fast-growing video app.

Whether Microsoft will come to the rescue of the sinking Tik Tok, one has to wait and see.

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US State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the consulate was directed to close “in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.”

On July 21, police in Houston said they responded to reports of smoke in the courtyard outside the consulate. According to a video shared by local media, it appeared to be officials inside the compound burning documents.

In a statement posted on its official social media, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the order to close the consulate was a “political provocation unilaterally launched by the US side, which seriously violates international law, basic norms governing international relations and the bilateral consular agreement between China and the US.”

China said that it strongly condemns such an outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China- US relations.

China urged the US to immediately withdraw its erroneous decision, otherwise China will make legitimate and necessary reactions.

Earlier the US put restrictions on Chinese diplomats in June and last October respectively as part of the former’s opposition against Chinese policies.

Relations between China and the United States have plummeted in the past year amid an ongoing trade war, the coronavirus pandemic and the US criticism of China’s human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

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