US to shut five consulates as critics fear China could fill diplomatic vacuum

The US State Department is to shut five foreign consulates and missions across Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, drawing criticism that it is leaving a diplomatic vacuum at risk of being filled by China.The US Congress has been served notice of the impending closures, which are being justified on cost grounds and follow a reassessment of the US’s bilateral relationships with a range of countries since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.According to a notice served to several congressional committees, missions will close in St George’s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Canada" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="179192" data-entity-type="location">Winnipeg, Canada.The closures will continue a process of cutbacks in US State Department operations overseen by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state. Last year, the department fired more than 1,300 employees, including 246 foreign services officers and 1,107 civil servants.More than half of the US’s 195 ambassadorial posts around the world remain unfilled, including in keys locations such as Germany, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, according to the American Foreign Service Association.Democrats have criticized the latest planned closures, saying it risked leaving the field free for China.“China has a diplomatic presence in three of the five locations where the state department is closing shop and Beijing is going to exploit that new vacuum to undercut American interests,” said Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee.“The yearly operating costs of these diplomatic facilities represent a tiny fraction of the state department’s yearly budget,” Shaheen added. “Is that worth pulling back from these places where China is present?”The decision to close the consulate in Winnipeg has come in for criticism in Canada, on which Trump recently announced the imposition of 50% tariffs on a range of goods.Opened in 2001, the Winnipeg consulate has served to facilitate trade and investment issues mainly relating to the province of Manitoba, of which Winnipeg is the capital.Brad Kirbyson, a former political specialist who worked at the consulate for 20 years, told the Canadian broadcaster CBC the closure could harm US interests.“I’m sure it’ll save them a few dollars, but I think the net effect is to lose touch with a broad swath of Canada by not having a presence there,” he said. “The United States found that it was a very long way between the US consulate in Calgary and the [one] in Toronto.“It makes a lot of sense to have a consulate in the middle of the country that can cover issues in this part of the world.”A spokesperson for the Canadian embassy in Washington said: “Canada and the US have a long history of collaboration on areas of shared interest, including through our foreign offices in both countries.”China does not have a diplomatic mission in Winnipeg, but it has a presence in St George’s, Nagoya and Medan. The US mission in St George’s, the capital of the Caribbean island of Grenada, has full embassy status, while the Douala facility is defined as an “embassy branch office”.A state department spokesperson said: “The department is committed to following congressional notification procedures including post closures. We have nothing further to report at this time.“We are focused on ensuring our diplomatic footprint is efficient, effective and delivers results for the American people.”The White House’s office of management and budget has argued for a much more extensive closure program of up to 30 foreign missions.Democrats, supported by national security and foreign policy specialists, have countered that such moves will dangerously reduce the US’s diplomatic footprint and global influence, especially when combined with last year’s dismantling of USAID, the main overseas development body, which was drastically reduced in size before being bundled into the state department.