Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Jan 17, 2020. (Photo: Agencies)

MOSCOW - The US decision to abruptly order the closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, like previous US pressure tactics against many other countries, "directly contradicts the values that Washington has been preaching around the world for many years," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

"If a country defends its national interests and develops its economy in a legitimate way and not yield to illegal actions of the United States, then some automatic mechanisms are immediately switched on," Zakharova said at a news briefing.

According to her, these mechanisms include threats, sanctions, seizures of real estate, arrests of people and closure of diplomatic missions.

"We have seen this under different US administrations," Zakharova said.

Commenting on US threats to impose visa restrictions on employees of Huawei and other Chinese tech firms, she said the United States is aimed at ousting strong competitors from the global 5G market.