Declaring at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library that “the old paradigm of blind engagement with China has failed,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday announced a new approach toward the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “Distrust but verify,” Fox News informed.
In stark and sobering remarks, Pompeo warned Americans that “if we bend the knee now, our children’s children may be at the mercy of the CCP, whose actions are the primary challenge to the free world.”
Pompeo’s address came a day after the FBI revealed that the CCP has implemented a “program” to secretly and illegally plant military researchers in several U.S. universities to pilfer sensitive materials. Earlier in the week, the State Department announced that China’s consulate in Houston would be closed, with Pompeo saying the complex was “a hub of spying and IP theft.” China has vowed retaliation.
Against that fraught backdrop, Pompeo promised action that he distinguished from Cold War-era “containment,” which aimed to stop the spread of communism and keep the Soviet Union isolated.
“It’s true that unlike the Soviet Union, China is deeply integrated into the global economy,” he said. “But Beijing is more dependent on us than we are on them.”
Hours after the FBI alleged a coordinated scheme by China to “send military scientists to the United States on false pretenses with false covers or false statements about their true employment,” Pompeo emphasized that the immigration system was prone to abuse.
“We opened our arms to Chinese citizens, only to see the CCP exploit our free and open society,” Pompeo continued, in perhaps his most pointed remarks directed at the Chinese government. “General Secretary Xi Jinping is a true believer in a bankrupt totalitarian ideology.”
Throughout his address, which also warned of the encroaching national security threats of major Chinese technology companies, Pompeo took pains to distinguish the CCP from the Chinese people.
“It’s true that unlike the Soviet Union, China is deeply integrated into the global economy,” he said. “But Beijing is more dependent on us than we are on them.”
Hours after the FBI alleged a coordinated scheme by China to “send military scientists to the United States on false pretenses with false covers or false statements about their true employment,” Pompeo emphasized that the immigration system was prone to abuse.
“We opened our arms to Chinese citizens, only to see the CCP exploit our free and open society,” Pompeo continued, in perhaps his most pointed remarks directed at the Chinese government. “General Secretary Xi Jinping is a true believer in a bankrupt totalitarian ideology.”
Throughout his address, which also warned of the encroaching national security threats of major Chinese technology companies, Pompeo took pains to distinguish the CCP from the Chinese people.
These actions have come as Trump has sought to blame China for the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., where cases have soared. Trump himself said more closures could be coming if China didn’t change its behavior. “It’s always possible,” he told reporters at the White House.
Pompeo similarly hit that theme. “Just think how much better off the world would’ve been if the doctors in Wuhan had been allowed to raise the alarm about the outbreak of a new coronavirus,” he said.
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