Pompeo says the United States wants to build a coalition to counter China’s ‘shameful’ threat

LONDON (Reuters) – United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as it accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests.

United States President Donald Trump identifies China as the United States’ main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage of trade and failing to tell the truth about the new coronavirus outbreak, which Trump calls the ” plague of China. ”

Pompeo, on a visit to London, praised Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ordering a purge of Huawei equipment from his 5G mobile phone network, saying it was the right decision as the data may have ended up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

The secretary of state chose China as the aggressor, saying he had made illegal claims of martime, intimidated the Himalayan countries, covered up the coronavirus outbreak and exploited it to promote his own interests in a “shameful” way.

“We hope we can build a coalition that understands the threat and works collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that it is not in their interest to engage in this type of behavior,” Pompeo told reporters with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

“We want to see all nations that understand freedom and democracy … to understand this threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses to them.”

Pompeo offered no evidence of how China had exploited the coronoavrius.

As Britain hardens its stance on China due to its handling of the coronavirus epidemic and an offensive in the former British colony of Hong Kong, Pompeo’s visit is an attempt to toughen Johnson’s resolution and hang the potential reward of post-Brexit free trade agreement, diplomats say

Pompeo said an agreement could be concluded in a short time.

“A third round (of negotiations) scheduled for later this month, a primary focus for the United States is to see that we can move this forward and close this as quickly as possible,” Pompeo said, adding that he had discussed this with Johnson.

Beijing says the West, and Washington in particular, is dominated by anti-Chinese hysteria and colonial thinking about the communist state.

China, whose $ 15 trillion economy is five times the size of the United Kingdom, says the decision to foreclose Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, will harm Britain’s economy, delay trade and discourage the investment.

Pompeo will also meet with Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law and the last British Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten.