Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, holds a routine press conference.

Chinese consulates will firmly safeguard citizens' legal interests, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a press conference on Thursday, in response to the FBI's claim that a Chinese researcher they are pursuing is hiding in the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.

Recently, the US has been monitoring, insulting and suppressing Chinese overseas students and scholars in the country, imposing presumption of guilt on them. This is blunt political persecution and severely infringes on Chinese citizens' interests, Wang said.

The FBI alleged that a Chinese research fellow of biology, Tang Juan, lied about her connection to the Chinese military in order to acquire a US visa and is avoiding arrest by entering the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. 

Tang was issued a non-immigrant visa last fall to conduct research at the University of California. But after FBI agents found photos of her in military uniform on the internet, they interviewed her on June 20 about her visa application, CNBC reported on Wednesday. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not release any more information about Tang on Thursday. 

The incident was reported after the US requested the closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, accusing it of infringing on intellectual property and Americans' private information. 

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it was "always possible" he would order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the US, which sparked concerns over a possible escalating confrontation between China and the US. 

Global Times