NEW YORK, July 24. /TASS/. The USA is offering to create a new alliance of like-minded states to counter China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday during a speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California.
"This isn’t about containment. It’s about a complex new challenge we’ve never faced before," he said, talking about China’s activity. "We can’t face this challenge alone. The UN, NATO, the G7, the G20, our combined economic, diplomatic, and military power is surely enough to meet this challenge, if directed properly," Pompeo continued.
"Maybe it’s time for a new grouping of like-minded nations... a new alliance of democracies," the US Secretary of State noted. "We have the tools. Now we need the will."
"If the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will change us. There can be no return to past practices just because they’re comfortable, or convenient," Pompeo said.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday, Washington demanded that Beijing shut down its diplomatic mission in Houston. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin blasted this move by the US as a provocation that violates the norms of international law and the principles of bilateral relations, along with the consular agreement between both states. The spokesperson added that China would take decisive countermeasures if the US does not waive this demand.
On Tuesday, Pompeo accused China of trying to steal US intellectual property with the aid of Chinese state companies. During a joint press conference with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London, Pompeo stated that the US wishes to form an international coalition to counter the threats coming from China.