China's foreign ministry informed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing it is ordering the closure of the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu, in apparent retaliation for the U.S. shutting down China's Houston consulate this week.

Chengdu is one of five U.S. consulates in mainland China. The U.S. also has a consulate in Hong Kong.

Houston was the first Chinese consulate to open in the U.S. following normalization of relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979.

This is a developing story.