Small bomb detonates outside US Embassy in Beijing

A man was injured after he detonated a small bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday, officials said.

The embassy said in a statement that the incident took place around 1 p.m. local time just outside the southeast corner of the facility. One individual detonated a bomb, injuring only himself.

“Other than the bomber, no other people were injured and there was no damage to embassy property. The local police responded,” the embassy said.

{mosads}

The Beijing Police Department said in a statement on its website that the suspect is a 26-year-old from the region of Inner Mongolia. It identified the man only as Jiang, and described the device as made from fireworks.

Police have not yet commented on motive. The investigation is ongoing. 

The Associated Press reported that officers a few hours earlier had removed a woman who doused herself in gasoline, potentially with the intent to set herself on fire. Authorities have not commented on that case, the AP reported.

The U.S. and China are in the middle of an escalating trade dispute, prompted by $34 billion in tariffs the Trump administration slapped on Chinese goods. China responded with the same amount of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products.

President Trump has since ordered his administration to look at hundreds of billions of dollars worth of additional tariffs, raising concerns of a trade war.

Even amid the tensions, Trump has often touted his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade,” Trump tweeted in April.

The president had not commented on the embassy incident as of early Thursday morning.