China’s Houston consulate might have been ordered closed, but don’t expect that decision to have a major impact on Beijing’s espionage campaign on U.S. soil.

China views its U.S. diplomatic presence as a subset of its intelligence presence. This activity is pursued by Ministry of State Security intelligence officers and People’s Liberation Army attaches operating out of Beijing’s embassy and its four remaining consulates in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In turn, the Trump administration will be well aware that China’s espionage effort won’t be significantly restrained by the closure of its Houston station.