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Pompeo to governors: China is watching you
The Secretary of State warns state officials that China "is working you."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that some Chinese activities, like Confucius Institute students spreading Chinese government-run messages, require a hyper-vigilance from governors. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/08/mike-pompeo-governors-china-112539
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a stark message for the governors gathered in Washington this weekend: The Chinese government is watching them, and other state government officials, more closely than they think.
Pompeo told some 44 governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting that they are being individually analyzed by at least one Chinese government-backed think-tank on how malleable they are, and how prone to cooperate with China. And he warned governors to be cautious on everything from business deals to pension funds to D.C. Metro cards.
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“They’ve labeled each of you friendly, hardline or ambiguous,” he said, describing a report put out by the think tank last year. “I’ll let you decide where you think you belong. Someone in China already has. Many of you indeed, in the report are referenced by name.”
Saying that China's efforts have become more methodical than ever, Pompeo told the governors to verify business inquiries and “not to make separate individual deals” with China that could “undermine national policy.”
"And, in fact, whether you are viewed by the [Communist Party of China] as friendly or hardline, know that it’s working you, know that it’s working the team around you," Pompeo, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, warned. "Competition with China is happening inside of your state, and it affects our capacity to perform America’s vital national security functions."
Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's tumultuous trade relationship with the Chinese government, Pompeo said that the U.S. can find places to cooperate “when our interests converge" — he pointed to the first part of the trade deal Trump signed with China last month and millions of dollars in aid the United States is sending to China and other countries impacted by the coronavirus.
But he argued that some Chinese activities, like Confucius Institute students spreading Chinese government-run messages, require a hyper-vigilance from governors.
“Today they have free reign in our system and we’re completely shut out from theirs,” he said.
The Secretary of State warns state officials that China "is working you."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that some Chinese activities, like Confucius Institute students spreading Chinese government-run messages, require a hyper-vigilance from governors. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/08/mike-pompeo-governors-china-112539
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a stark message for the governors gathered in Washington this weekend: The Chinese government is watching them, and other state government officials, more closely than they think.
Pompeo told some 44 governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting that they are being individually analyzed by at least one Chinese government-backed think-tank on how malleable they are, and how prone to cooperate with China. And he warned governors to be cautious on everything from business deals to pension funds to D.C. Metro cards.
Advertisement
“They’ve labeled each of you friendly, hardline or ambiguous,” he said, describing a report put out by the think tank last year. “I’ll let you decide where you think you belong. Someone in China already has. Many of you indeed, in the report are referenced by name.”
Saying that China's efforts have become more methodical than ever, Pompeo told the governors to verify business inquiries and “not to make separate individual deals” with China that could “undermine national policy.”
"And, in fact, whether you are viewed by the [Communist Party of China] as friendly or hardline, know that it’s working you, know that it’s working the team around you," Pompeo, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, warned. "Competition with China is happening inside of your state, and it affects our capacity to perform America’s vital national security functions."
Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's tumultuous trade relationship with the Chinese government, Pompeo said that the U.S. can find places to cooperate “when our interests converge" — he pointed to the first part of the trade deal Trump signed with China last month and millions of dollars in aid the United States is sending to China and other countries impacted by the coronavirus.
But he argued that some Chinese activities, like Confucius Institute students spreading Chinese government-run messages, require a hyper-vigilance from governors.
“Today they have free reign in our system and we’re completely shut out from theirs,” he said.
