“If we don’t act now CCP will erode our freedom”: Mike Pompeo pitches for a new “alliance of democracies” to tackle China

Upping the ante against Beijing, US state secretary Mike Pompeo on Thursday called for the creation of a “new alliance of democracies” to fight against the authoritarian Chinese regime. “If we bend the knee now, our children’s children may be at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)”, said Pompeo, fearing that if concrete and timely actions are not taken against the tyrannical Chinese regime, it won’t be long before the Chinese Communist Party “erode our freedoms” and undermine the rules-based international order.

“If we do not act now, ultimately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will erode our freedoms and subvert the rules-based order that our societies have worked so hard to build”, said Mike Pompeo, in a speech in California on Thursday.

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Chinese Consulate in Houston a hub of spying and intellectual property theft: Mike Pompeo

Speaking of USA’s sudden decision to shut the Chinese Consulate in Houston, the US State Secretary said that the consulate was a centre of espionage, operating to illegally obtain USA’s trade secrets.

“This week we closed down China’s consulate in Houston because it was a hub of spying and intellectual property theft,” Pompeo said.

Casting aspersions on Beijing and its relations with Washington, Pompeo added: “China ripped off our prized intellectual property and trade secrets costing millions of jobs across America”.

USA ordered China to shut down its Consulate in Houston

In an unprecedented move, the USA government had ordered China to shut down its Consulate in Houston, Texas within 72 hours, on July 22. Soon after, videos of Chinese staffers burning documents at the consulate had gone viral on social media.

Condemning the action, China had vowed to retaliate after what they called an ‘unprecedented escalation’ of the US’s actions against China.

China retaliates

Now, in what can be seen as an eye for an eye escalation between China and the US, China on Friday ordered the United States to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu.

China’s foreign ministry said the closure was a “legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable actions taken by the United States”, in a statement.

Pinning the blame on the US, the Chinese foreign ministry added: “The current situation between China and the United States is something China does not want to see, and the US bears all responsibility for that.”