Mike Pompeo Accuses China of Trying to Foment U.S. Racial Unrest

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State on Wednesday (Sep 23) accused China of trying to stimulate unrest in the United States through its criticism of racism.

Accustomed for his hawkish views on China, Pompeo went on the attack on Beijing in an unusual address to state lawmakers in Wisconsin, a vital swing state in November’s presidential election.

Pompeo said lawmakers from his Republican Party inside the state Capitol in Madison the Chinese Communist Party “thinks it can drown out American cries for accountability with shouts of racism”.

“The CCP wants to foment the kind of strife we’ve seen in Minneapolis, and Portland and Kenosha,” Pompeo said, mentioning three cities that have seen protests over racism and police brutality in recent months.

“That’s disgusting. We can’t let it happen,” he said.

Pompeo pointed to a letter from a Chinese diplomat to a lawmaker from Wisconsin that said Beijing was “firmly opposed to racial discrimination and xenophobia” against the Chinese community in the United States over the coronavirus crisis.

“They want you to believe that America’s righteous anger at the CCP over its handling of the coronavirus has something to do with race. It does not,” Pompeo told.

“It has everything to do with citizens who are no longer with us, children who are not able to go back to school and jobs that have been lost,” Pompeo further added.

“The CCP knows this.”

The U.S. frequently assails China’s human rights record including over its incarceration, while China’s official media eagerly returned criticism after the May killing of African American George Floyd that has sparked global protests and renewed attention to racism.