Mike Pompeo accused China of engaging in coronavirus ‘cover-up’ (File)
Washington:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged “the whole world” to stand up to China, but denied forcing Britain’s hand in its move to ban the communist superpower’s private telecommunications giant Huawei.
Mr Pompeo met Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the heat of an emerging crisis in London-Beijing relations on everything from China’s treatment of Hong Kong to its persecution of over a million ethnic Uyghurs and d other predominantly Muslim minorities.
The senior American diplomat took advantage of a press conference with his British counterpart Dominic Raab to express a host of grievances that President Donald Trump’s administration had racked up against Beijing.
He accused China of engaging in “cover-up and co-optation” of the World Health Organization by suppressing early details of the “preventable” coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 610,000 people worldwide.
“The exploitation of this disaster by the Chinese Community Party to serve its own interests has been shameful,” he said.
Mr Pompeo also lambasted China for claiming that disputed areas of the South China Sea “you have no legal claim” and attempting to “threaten and intimidate” its neighbors.
“We believe that the whole world should work together to ensure that every country, including China, behaves in the international system in a manner that is appropriate and in accordance with the international order,” he said.
– ‘Good thing to do’ –
Mr Pompeo’s last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored Washington’s warnings and allowed Huawei to play a leading role in building Britain’s next-generation mobile data network.
The trip was announced just a day after Johnson decided last week to risk angering China and phasing Huawei out of the fast new system.
China’s foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming “America’s dupe.”
But Mr Pompeo and Mr Raab both tried to dispel suggestions that the White House was dictating British affairs.
“I think this decision was made not because the United States said it was a good decision, but because the leaders here in the United Kingdom concluded (that it was) the right thing to do. “said Mr. Pompeo.
Mr Johnson is keen to avoid being too closely associated with Mr Trump – whose approval in Britain languishes at around 20% – despite the “special relationship” between the two historic allies.
The UK government stresses that it only abandoned Huawei after new US sanctions imposed in May endangered the security of future 5G equipment produced in China.
“The reality is that this is the result of US sanctions,” said Mr. Raab.
Washington argues that the Chinese Community Party can force Huawei to intercept UK data or shut down the UK network during wartime.
Huawei has always denied this and Britain had previously concluded that it could mitigate security loopholes.
– ‘Golden Decade’ –
But the array of measures Johnson has taken over the past month threatens to prematurely end a ‘golden decade’ of cooperation that former UK Finance Minister George Osborne promised during a visit to Beijing in 2015.
London also outraged Beijing by offering nearly three million Hong Kong residents a pathway to British citizenship in response to a highly controversial security law that China imposed on the former British colony last month. .
Britain followed that on Monday by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending a “potentially lethal” arms embargo that previously only applied to mainland China.
Mr Pompeo’s visit includes a sideline meeting with exiled Hong Kong protest leader Nathan Law, in an effort to further highlight Beijing’s seemingly new understanding.
The release by the UK parliament of a delayed report that criticized the government for failing to properly consider any Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum was also suspended from Mr Pompeo’s visit.
The report was commissioned in response to fears that Moscow tried to help Trump win the presidency in 2016.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo reject suggestions that Russia played a significant role in the vote.
Mr Raab said Britain viewed Russia as “a top national security priority”, but Mr Pompeo did not address the issue in his public remarks.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
