Pompeo warns about China’s spies

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned US politicians at the state and local level to be vigilant around Chinese diplomats who he said could be trying to woo them as part of Beijing’s propaganda and espionage campaign.

Speaking in Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin, Mr Pompeo said the State Department was reviewing the activities of the US-China Friendship Association and the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification over suspicions they were trying to influence US schools, business groups and local politicians.

The two groups are linked to China’s United Front Work Department, an organ of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, he said.

“Know that when you are approached by a Chinese diplomat, it is likely not in the spirit of cooperation or friendship,” Mr Pompeo said, warning of the Chinese Communist Party’s “influence and espionage campaigns” even at the municipal level.

“The federal government can’t police every bit of this predatory and coercive behaviour. We need your help. Protecting American interests requires vigilance, vigilance that starts with you — and all state legislators, regardless of party.”

The latest swipe at Beijing comes in the run-up to the November election, in which US President Donald Trump has made a tough approach to China an important foreign policy platform. Wisconsin is a key battleground state in the polls.

Mr Pompeo’s speech triggered anger among Democratic lawmakers, who accused him of using taxpayer money to boost support for Mr Trump and, potentially, for himself as he is widely seen as intending to run in 2024.

Ties between China and the US are at their lowest point in decades, with the world’s top two economies at loggerheads over issues ranging from China’s handling of the coronavirus to trade rivalries, new national security legislation in Hong Kong and tensions in the South China Sea.