US prosecutors on Monday charged a 39-year-old man with arson in connection with a fire at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco on New Year's Day, after deciding not to treat the incident as an act of terrorism.

Yan Feng turned himself into local police on Friday, two days after the Chinese consulate in San Francisco sustained fire and smoke damage, FBI special agent David Johnson said at a news conference on Monday. Feng currently faces two criminal charges, including arson and causing damage to property of a foreign government.

After surrendering to law enforcement, Feng told investigators that he targeted the consulate "because all the voices he had been hearing were in Chinese and the Chinese Consulate had to have been involved," according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.

"We're looking at it purely as a criminal matter," Johnson said at the press conference.

Feng appeared in court on Monday but did not enter a plea, and he remained in custody, a US spokesman said.

An FBI spokesman said the agency believes Feng is a US permanent resident but did not disclose his birthplace.

Last Wednesday, the man got out of a mini-van in front of the Chinese consulate, poured two buckets of gasoline onto the front door and set it alight.

No one was injured in the incident. In a statement on Monday, the Chinese consulate in San Francisco said it will closely follow Feng's case.

"We urge the US side to learn lessons from this incident, take effective measures to ensure the safety, security and dignity of Chinese diplomatic and consulate missions and staff in the US and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents," the consulate said.

China News Service quoted Chinese consulate as saying the arsonist's Chinese name is Feng Yanfeng.