U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter Thursday to share a video message criticizing China on a number of fronts and vowing the U.S. would “impose costs” to gain a “change in behavior” from Beijing.
“The Chinese Communist Party is acting in a way that poses real threats to the world, and the United States is going to make sure that we preserve American national security and impose costs on the [Chinese Communist Party] in order to achieve a change in behavior,” Pompeo tweeted with a video message.
The Chinese Communist Party is acting in a way that poses real threats to the world, and the United States is going to make sure that we preserve American national security and impose costs on the CCP in order to achieve a change in behavior. pic.twitter.com/Baw3grrCAv
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 16, 2020
Pompeo’s video is cut from a portion of a virtual town hall interview with The Hill.
Pompeo first criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping for violating a 2015 agreement to not militarize the South China Sea.
“General Secretary Xi promised he would not militarize the South China Sea in 2015, in the Rose Garden,” Pompeo said, referring to the front lawn of the White House where Xi signified his commitment. “He militarized the South China Sea.”
Moving on to the next criticism of China, Pompeo addressed the country’s recent decision to extend national security legislation from mainland China onto the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.
“They made a promise, a 50-year commitment, an internationally recognized agreement between China and the United Kingdom in Hong Kong, that there would be one country and two systems, and [Xi] has now fundamentally violated that,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo continued to say “they make commitments to the Paris Climate Accord that they’re not remotely close to complying with.”
The Paris Climate Accord that Pompeo referenced is a United Nations agreement to reduce green house emissions. In 2017, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the climate agreement. In a White House statement, Trump said the agreement was unfair and noted China would be able to continue increasing its emissions for another 13 years while the U.S. would have to accept more strict limits on emissions.
“This is a Chinese Communist Party that is acting in a way that poses real threats to the world,” Pompeo continued, “and the United States is going to respond in each of those venues to make sure that we preserve American national security and impose costs on the Chinese Communist Party in order to achieve a change in behavior that will have a good outcome.”
Addressing the South China Sea issue further, Pompeo said China treats the disputed sea region as its own “maritime empire.”
Pompeo’s remarks also come amid a series of actions by the Trump administration to punish China.
On Monday, the U.S. State Department under Pompeo’s leadership offered a formal statement rejecting China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
On Tuesday, President Trump signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, authorizing sanctions for Chinese officials and entities responsible for enacting the national security legislation over Hong Kong.
Trump is also reportedly considering a blanket visa ban on all Chinese Communist Party members and their families, barring them from entering the U.S.
