US has woken up to how ‘truly hostile’ China is towards Western values, says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
- Conflict with China is result of ‘distorted’ view created by lobbyists and state media, Pompeo says
- Speech to think tank repeats Trump administration’s criticisms and charges against Beijing
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo started a series of speeches on “the challenge of China” on Wednesday by saying that Beijing’s policies were hostile to Western interests.
His address at a dinner organised by the conservative Hudson Institute think tank in New York mixed praise for the Chinese people with harsh criticism of the ruling Communist Party of China. He said he was “optimistic” about the signing of the “first phase” of a US-China trade deal next month.
Pompeo, who was given an award by the institute for leadership in US national security policy, focused on President Donald Trump’s administration’s commitment to confront China. He called the policy a departure from more than two decades of governments in Washington that had been “slow to see the risk” of China.
“We accommodated and encouraged China’s rise for decades, even when that rise was at the expense of American values, Western democracy and security, and the common good,” he said.
Pompeo said he planned to give a series of addresses and remarks in the months ahead, outlining the challenge of China on topics such as the “competing ideologies and values” that drew distinctions between it and the US.