China ordered the United States to shut its consulate in the city of Chengdu, the latest in a round of tit-for-tat measures as relations between the two powers deteriorate dramatically.

The move, which was in direct retaliation for the U.S. closing of the country’s diplomatic post in Houston, came within hours of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring that America’s decadeslong policy of engagement with China had failed.

“The measure taken by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States”, - China’s Foreign Ministry said.

“The current situation in Chinese-U.S. relations is not what China desires to see. The United States is responsible for all this. We once again urge the U.S. to immediately retract its wrong decision and create necessary conditions for bringing the bilateral relationship back on track”, - the ministry said.

Chengdu, in Sichuan province, is one of the biggest cities in western China. The U.S. consulate - opened in 1985 - covers the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region.