United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said that all free nations must come together to counter China’s aggression and influence, Reuters reported. Pompeo also referred to China as “Frankenstein” and said that the effort to oppose China would be “a mission of our time”.
“President [Richard] Nixon once said he feared he had created a ‘Frankenstein’ by opening the world to the CCP [Communist Party of China],” Pompeo said during his speech at the Nixon Library in California. “And here we are.”
“Today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else,” Pompeo added, according to The Guardian. “The freedom-loving nations of the world must induce China to change ... in more creative and assertive ways, because Beijing’s actions threaten our people and our prosperity.”
Pompeo also accused China of breaching its international commitments on Hong Kong and South China sea. He also alleged that China had been spying on American companies from its consulate in Houston, Texas, which was ordered shut earlier this week.
On Tuesday, US prosecutors also charged two alleged Chinese hackers over a “sweeping global computer intrusion campaign”. The hackers were accused of stealing information on weapons designs, Covid-19 vaccine research, software source code and personal data.
The bilateral ties between US and China have become increasingly strained amid the coronavirus crisis. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed China for spreading the coronavirus to other countries.
Trump had also signed an order earlier this month to end special trade preferences for Hong Kong to punish China’s “oppressive actions” against the former British colony.
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