‘The West is winning,’ U.S. tells China; France wary

MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday defended his nation’s global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over Russian and Chinese desires for “empire.”

Seeking to reassure Europeans troubled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America first” rhetoric, his ambivalence over the NATO military alliance and tariffs on European goods, Pompeo said there was no crisis in Western leadership.

“I’m happy to report that the death of the transatlantic alliance is grossly exaggerated. The West is winning, and we’re winning together,” he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, listing U.S. steps to protect liberal democracies.

Pompeo’s Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, accused him of telling “lies, not based on facts” about Beijing’s intentions.

Pompeo had been, in part, responding to German President FrankWalter Steinmeier, who on Friday accused the United States, Russia and China of making the world more dangerous.

French President Emmanuel Macron told the conference of international leaders, lawmakers and diplomats he was not surprised by Steinmeier’s speech and had liked it.

“We cannot be the United States’ junior partner,” Macron said, adding that while he supported NATO, Europe needed to be able to tackle threats in its neighbourhood and at times act independently of Washington.

“I’m impatient for European solutions,” Macron said.

Trump’s decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as well as the Paris climate accord, have undermined European priorities, while moves such as recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have weakened European diplomacy, envoys say.

Pompeo defended the U.S. strategy, saying Europe, Japan and other American allies were united on China, Iran and Russia, despite “tactical differences.”