US and European Union must face down China together, says Mike Pompeo

The US and European Union (EU) need a shared understanding of China to resist it, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, calling Beijing a threat and accusing it of stealing European know-how to develop its economy.

Pompeo said he had accepted a proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to create a formal US-EU dialogue on China and would travel to Europe soon to host the first session.

“There is a transatlantic awakening to the truth of what’s happening,” Pompeo told a think-tank event via video link. “This isn’t the US confronting China, this is the world confronting China,” he said.

Borrell raised the idea of a US-EU dialogue earlier this month at the end of a video call between Pompeo and EU foreign ministers. While details are thin, Pompeo said it would be run by senior officials and would be open-ended.