Pompeo uses controversial platform at Republican convention to praise Trump’s hard line on China

The US Secretary of State drew scrutiny for his party political speech, blurring long established lines between the foreign service and political campaigning

The term ‘China virus’ and other issues relating to China-US relations have been prominent throughout the first two days of the Republican National Convention

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United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks from Jerusalem during the second night of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. Photo: Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via AP

Published: 1:45pm, 26 Aug 2020Updated: 4:17am, 27 Aug 2020

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used an extraordinary appearance at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday to trumpet President Donald Trump’s hard-line approach to handling Beijing, seeking to portray the Democratic contender as a candidate who could only “talk” but not “deliver” when it came to foreign policy.

Trump had “pulled back the curtain on the predatory aggression of the Chinese Communist Party” said Pompeo, pointing to the administration’s expulsion of Chinese diplomats accused of carrying out espionage, its tearing up of a “ridiculously unfair trade agreement”, and the measures it has taken in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a pre-recorded message, Pompeo said Trump had held China accountable for “covering up” the virus and “allowing it to spread death and economic destruction in America and around the world. And he will not rest until justice is done.”

The Trump administration has not imposed any direct punitive measures against Beijing over the coronavirus, but it has pulled the US out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) over accusations of a China bias within the United Nations body.

Pompeo said Trump’s “America first vision” had succeeded, a strategy he conceded had not made the US leader “popular in every foreign capital”. In a thinly veiled swipe at Trump’s Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, he said: “The way each of us can best ensure our freedoms is by electing leaders who don’t just talk, but who deliver.”

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