US Secretary of State: China's Houston consulate was 'hub' of spying

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

"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. -- Agence France-Presse