FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

China Foreign Ministry Responds to Pompeo’s Threats to Countries That Use Huawei Equipment

Feb. 13, 2019 (EIRNS)—At a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Feb. 12, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated: “If that [Huawei] equipment is co-located in places where we have important American systems, it makes it more difficult for us to partner alongside them.” He elaborated on that threat in remarks in Warsaw:

“With respect to Chinese infrastructure delivered via Huawei, we’ve done here in Poland what we’ve done all across the world: We’ve made known the risks that are associate with that ... risks to the private information of the citizens of the country.... Individual countries then will make their own choices.”

Asked about Pompeo’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying stated:

“As for the statements made by the U.S. side, we have noticed all of them. For some time, the U.S. has been leaving no stones unturned in framing China with all kinds of trumped-up charges and fabricating China threat theories. It has blatantly threatened and tried to drive a wedge between China and other countries, tarnished the image of Chinese companies, and suppressed their rights and interests for legitimate development and cooperation. What the U.S. has done is unjust, immoral, and nothing like how a major country is supposed to act. We believe that the vast majority of countries will not fail to make out the true intentions and the bullying nature of the U.S. side.”

This response was seconded in a Feb. 12 Global Times editorial, which characterized Pompeo’s threats as follows:

“The U.S. is lobbying all other NATO countries to boycott Huawei equipment with the obvious intention of making its allies participate in a crackdown on Chinese high-tech companies... If U.S. allies stop using Huawei equipment, no longer purchase energy from Russia, further alienate China and Russia at the demands of Washington while increasing imports from the U.S. and following the U.S. lead in everything, then NATO will start to resemble the old Warsaw Pact.”

This response was seconded in a Feb. 12 Global Times editorial, which characterized Pompeo’s threats as follows:

“The U.S. is lobbying all other NATO countries to boycott Huawei equipment with the obvious intention of making its allies participate in a crackdown on Chinese high-tech companies.... If U.S. allies stop using Huawei equipment, no longer purchase energy from Russia, further alienate China and Russia at the demands of Washington while increasing imports from the U.S. and following the U.S. lead in everything, then NATO will start to resemble the old Warsaw Pact....”

The editorial went on:

“The world is changing fast, but Washington is simplistically formulating countermeasures following the bipolar model of the old Cold War. The U.S. expands its strength to form cliques and meanwhile regards China and Russia as the ‘new axis.’ This path is a grave error caused by political laziness and a hegemonic, Cold War mentality....

“China is facing a rare, complex security situation....

“Countries that misread the era and follow the U.S. will certainly suffer. Being a tool for Washington’s national strategy will only lead to bigoted domestic diplomacy and a gradual loss of external development resources.

“Today’s U.S. has become synonymous with selfishness and cunning.”