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(London) US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo on Tuesday called on the world to stand up to China after meeting in London with the British government, at odds with Beijing over Hong Kong and the exclusion of Chinese giant Huawei from the British 5G network.
"We believe that the whole world should work together to make sure that all countries, including China, behave [...] of a way that is in line with the international order, "said Mike Pompeo during a press conference alongside his British counterpart Dominic Raab.
Welcoming "frank" discussions with British officials, Mr Pompeo called "all nations committed to freedom and democracy [...] understand the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party ".
In recent months, the United Kingdom has continued to move closer to Washington's positions, in open confrontation with China, even making a turn at 180 degrees on the telecoms equipment manufacturer Huawei.
The head of American diplomacy has however denied that Washington has forced the hand of its ally in this matter.
"This decision was made, not because the United States said it was a good decision, but because the leadership, here in the UK, have concluded that the right thing to do is make this decision for the British people, "he insisted.
London claimed to have banned Huawei for security reasons, after the American sanctions imposed in May on this company to cut off access to semi-public conductors made with American components.
In return, China claimed that London had been "fooled" by the Americans.
"The information which passes through these networks of Chinese origin will certainly end up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party", previously affirmed Mike Pompeo. Charges that Huawei has firmly rejected.
End of the golden age
The US Secretary of State arrived around noon at 08 Downing Street, where he appeared without a face mask, as did UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, they then sat more than a meter apart.
"Social distancing does not mean taking diplomatic or political distance", joked the head of the British government.
Was on the menu of discussions, in addition to a future post-Brexit trade agreement between London and Washington, the situation in Hong Kong, another subject that annoys Beijing.
The golden age promised to Sino-British relations by former Finance Minister George Osborne during a visit to Beijing in 2015 therefore now seems distant.
Because the United Kingdom angered China by offering easier access to British nationality to nearly three million residents of Hong Kong, in response to China's national security law that Beijing imposed on the former British colony last month.
The British added another layer on Monday by suspending the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending the arms embargo already applied to the Mainland China, believing that Beijing violates the terms of the Sino-British treaty of 944 which had accompanied the retrocession of this territory.
For the Chinese regime, this law, which aims to suppress subversive activities, must ensure stability and put an end to the violence that has enamelled the protest movement of 2015 in Hong Kong, as well as repress the tide in favor of independence.
Washington for its part revoked the preferential trade status granted to Hong Kong, restricted visas for Chinese officials accused of "questioning" the autonomy of the former colony and stopped the sale of sensitive defense equipment to this territory.
Mike Pompeo was due to meet the former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten on Thursday at the end of the day, as well as Nathan Law, one of the most active young activists. view of the Hong Kong reform movement, which currently resides in London.