[South China Morning Post] - Izmir mission closed down for ‘efficiency’
- Decision follows war of words between Beijing and Ankara over treatment of Muslim minority population in Xinjiang
“China has decided to temporarily close the consulate in Izmir from February 28, 2019. All diplomatic and consular services of the Izmir consulate will be handled by the Chinese embassy [in Ankara],” according to a notice on the embassy’s WeChat social media account.
The notice went on to say that the decision related solely to internal working arrangements and work efficiency had been one of the factors taken into account.
The shutdown of the Izmir consulate comes days after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a United Nations rights forum in Geneva that reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang were a serious cause for concern.