Starting a "diplomatic war" does not prove the strength of the United States, but only exposes its increasing lack of confidence, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday. 

China has no intention to fight a "diplomatic war" with the U.S. as it will only hurt the interests of the two peoples even more, he said.

The remarks came after the U.S. recently closed the Chinese Consulate General in Houston by accusing it as a hub of spying and intellectual property theft and China made a reciprocal response by closing the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu. 

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"If the U.S. is bent on going down the wrong path, China is ready to make due response," the Chinese foreign minister said. 

He said that the Chinese Consulate General in Houston was the first Consulate General opened by China in the U.S. after the establishment of the diplomatic ties, and it was always an important symbol of China-U.S. friendship. 

"Closing a consulate-general that bears both historical and current significance is closing a window for exchange and mutual understanding between the Chinese and Americans," Wang said. 

This move has undermined the normal growth of China-U.S. relations and the friendship between the two peoples. All the excuses for closure used by the U.S. side are nothing but fabrications, Wang said, noting that none of them is backed by evidence and none of them can stand up to scrutiny.

"Naturally, China would not swallow this arbitrary and unscrupulous U.S. move. Our countermeasure is legitimate, justified and lawful, and it fully conforms to diplomatic norms," the Chinese foreign minister said. 

(With input from Xinhua)