US Stands With Australia After Threats of Economic Retaliation From Beijing

'The world greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically hostile to free nations,' says Pompeo

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denounced the Chinese regimes hostility towards Australia and said the world now has a “more realistic understanding” on the “nature of the regime” after Beijings lack of transparency surrounding the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus virus.

Speaking at a State Department press briefing on May 20, Pompeo said: “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chose to threaten Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus.”

“Its not right,” he continued.

Declaring Americas support for Australia in the face of the CCPs bullying, Pompeo said: “We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, so we can understand what went wrong and save lives now, and in the future.”

Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison has chosen not to approach Beijings recent sanctions on Australian beef and barley as retaliatory actions for Australias call for an independent investigation into the origins of the CCP virus, adding that he would be disappointed with China if this was the case.

“Well work those trading relationships. But what we will never do is trade away our values,” he said on May 14.

Australias federal trade minister Simon Birmingham said that the Morrison government will not engage in an economic war with Beijing despite the regimes “wolf warrior” diplomatic tactics towards Australia.

Birmingham told reporters on May 19 that Australias trade policy is based on the international rules on trade and the government would not be putting tariffs on Chinese goods because, “We dont conduct our trade policy on a tit for tat basis.”

“Its quite inappropriate. In the end, we want China to participate and cooperate with these inquiries as much as we want the rest of the world too,” he told Channel 7.

Pompeo Says World Now Waking Up to Threat Posed By a Communist China

Pompeo utilised his press availability to discuss previous administrations failed foreign policy towards China.

“For several decades, we thought the regime would become more like us … That didnt happen. We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically hostile to free nations,” he said.

As a result of the pandemic, “the world is waking up to that fact,” he said, adding that the virus has “accelerated Read More – Source