“The Story” presenter Martha MacCallum pressured Defense Secretary Mike Pompeo on whether the rapid escalation of tensions with China has led the two world powers to a Cold War, similar to the relationship between the United States and the Union Soviet in the 20th century.
MacCallum asked Pompeo about the federal government closing a Chinese Consulate in Houston, which followed a fire in the building during which people burned paper in what appeared to be trash cans, according to witnesses and police.
Multiple intelligence sources told Fox News on Thursday that one of the main reasons the consulate closed, unlike other Chinese diplomatic outposts, was because the CCP was carrying out threats and intimidation tactics against US energy companies. in the South China Sea.
In return, the Chinese government claimed that the U.S.-ordered shutdown is a provocation that violates international law, according to the Associated Press.
“The Consul in Houston says he said he has no plans to leave that consulate at this time, what is his response to that?” MacCallum first asked.
“Everyone knows the rules for diplomats, they are only allowed to be there in a diplomatic state with the consent of the host nation. Therefore, I am sure that we have also had private conversations, we will somehow proceed that leaves of course it’s not okay to use your diplomats to engage in industrial espionage, it’s not okay to steal intellectual property [or] engaging in such behaviors. That’s why we did it: we did it to protect the American people. “
The host added that China reportedly threatened retaliation in the form of a potential closure of US outposts in Chengdu and / or Wuhan, putting pressure on Pompeo on whether that could happen.
“Let’s go back to the first principles: … for more than 40 years, that is why today I am at the Nixon Library, the United States has turned the other cheek as we watched the Chinese Communist Party participate in activities that are not fair to the People American, it is not reciprocal for the American people, and it does not have the transparency we need so that we can engage with China fairly for our people and provide security for our people, that is what we intend to do, “Pompeo replied. “This decision on the [Houston] the consulate is consistent with a lot of other actions that we have taken and a lot more that we will continue to do until we have the change. “
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MacCallum then considered whether the actions related to the Houston consulate, combined with other actions on both sides of the Pacific, have created the same atmosphere that Washington once had in its relationship with the Kremlin.
“We talk about the sanctions we have, there are military exercises that have become somewhat more prominent in the region, we have two hackers who have just received accusations, are we in a Cold War right now with China?” she asked. “If we are not, it certainly seems we are.”
Pompeo said China continues to leave a trail of unfulfilled promises involving things “central to the behavior of the great nations of power.”
He said that Chinese President Xi Jinping promised the Obama administration that he would not militarize the South China Sea, and also that the Chinese had made a pact with Britain in 1999 involving Hong Kong’s 50-year relative autonomy .
“He broke it, he broke it. The United States simply demands that if the Chinese Communist Party wants to be considered in the league of nations that have great power and great roles and great importance, they must behave according to the promises they make, and the rules that have been established for sovereign nations to preserve the freedom of their own people, that is what we are looking for to make it happen, “Pompeo said.
“Name what you owe, but President Trump understands that the previous administrations, both Republican and Democratic, turned the other cheek for a terribly long time and it resulted in a real imbalance in the relationship between the United States and China. And our goal is to solve it “
Gillian Turner, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report..
