The US presidential administration intends to demand China to sharply reduce the number of diplomats in the US to a level equal to the number of American diplomats in China, the Washington Times reported referring to sources in the State Department.

The measure aims to reduce the burden on FBI counterintelligence agents, who have dispatched 2,000 special agents in recent months to capture Chinese spies and their agents, the senior official said. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said the bureau is opening a new China-related case every 10 hours on average.

According to the list of the US State Department, there are 245 diplomats attached to the Chinese Embassy in Washington. But many additional Chinese diplomats are placed at consulates in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and, until recently, Houston.