COPENHAGEN: The US State Department said Wednesday that the recent closing of China's consulate in Houston was to protect Americans' intellectual property and private information.

"We have directed the closure of PRC Consulate General Houston, in order to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information," State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus told reporters during US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Copenhagen, adding that under the Vienna Convention states "have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs" of the receiving state.