China is said to be moving to retaliate against the United States for ordering its Houston consulate shut, with either the US consulate in Chengdu or Hong Kong likely to be the target.

Hong Kong news outlet South China Morning Post, citing a source briefed on the decision, said the US consulate in Chengdu is the prime target.

But speculation is rife in China that the Hong Kong consulate is the most probable target.

The US also has consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Wuhan, and an embassy in Beijing.

In a sharp escalation of tensions between Washington and Beijing, the Trump administration notified China on Wednesday that it had withdrawn consent for it to operate the consulate in Houston, Texas.

The consulate was given 72 hours to close, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Hours before, Houston media reported that papers were being burnt in the consulate's compound in open containers.

Beijing vowed to retaliate if the US did not rescind its decision.

Lawmakers and diplomats in Washington say that espionage was behind the Trump administration's closure order.

Describing the allegation as "malicious slander", a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday said the US action amounted to a violation of the provisions of the China-US diplomatic treaty.

"This is dismantling the bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American people," said Mr Wang Wenbin, the spokesman.