The US government's order to China to shut its consulate in Houston is an attempt to blame Beijing for US failures ahead of the November presidential election.
That's according to the Chinese state media, which described the closure as "a new gambit in the US administration's bid to paint China as a malevolent actor on the world stage, and thus make it an outlaw to the international community".
"The move shows that lagging behind his presidential election opponent in the polls ... the US leader is going all out in his attempts to portray China as an agent of evil," it said.
Meanwhile, China's embassy to the US described the order as "political provocation" and called on Washington to "immediately revoke" the decision.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying wrote on Twitter that China would "surely react with firm countermeasures".
The US on Wednesday said it had given China 72 hours to close the consulate "to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information", prompting Chinese threats of retaliation.
The decision marked a dramatic escalation of tension between the world's two biggest economies amid fresh accusations of Chinese espionage in the US and calls by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for a new global coalition against Beijing.
A two-storey restaurant building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain's Balearic Islands.
Israeli forces killed 35 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.
Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi is set to be buried in the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, four days after he was killed in a helicopter crash along with foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other people.
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least six people and wounded at least 11 on Thursday, local authorities said.
A furious China launched "punishment" drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to "separatist acts", sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te.
Broadcasting every weekday, Georgia Tolley goes beyond the headlines to speak to government ministers, decision makers, analysts and local experts to find out how the news will impact those of us living in the UAE.
Dubai Duty Free executive vice chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin, announced that he will be stepping down from his role after 55 years in the travel retail industry and 41 years of leadership at Dubai Duty Free. Colm joined the Business Breakfast to reflect on his epic career.
78% of AI users are now bringing their own AI tools to work, but what does this mean for employers? Zubin Chagpar, Senior Director and Business Group Leader, Modern Work and Surface Devices, Microsoft CEMA tells us more.