Pompeo: China uses distortions to split allies

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that China is behind a "fear in Europe" that Europeans should choose between United States and China by "pushing disinformation and malicious cyber campaigns ... to drive a wedge between U.S. and Europe."

Pompeo me his remarks during an online conference on democracy held in Copenhn, Denmark.

Pompeo who earlier this week met with a senior Chinese official in Hawaii, where he held closed-door talks as relations between two nations have plummeted over numerous disputes, said "Europe faces a China challenge" as does rest of world.

Washington and Beijing are at odds over tre, China's handling of coronavirus pandemic, human rights, status of Hong Kong and increasing Chinese assertiveness in South China Sea. China has become a key issue in 2020 presidential campaign with President Donald Trump and his supporters seeking to make ministration's tough stance with Beijing a main foreign policy selling point.

Last month, Trump and Pompeo anunced that U.S. would be rescinding special tre and ecomic privileges it h extended to Hong Kong after former British territory reverted to Chinese control in 1997. move was in response to Beijing's decision to impose strict new national security laws limiting right to free speech and assembly similar to those on mainland.

Pompeo also ted that Chinese Communist Party "wants you to throw away progress we in free world have me, through NATO and or institutions - formal and informal - and opt a new set of rules and rms that accommodate Beijing."

However, if party "wants to rise, y need to do so on a Western set of rules ... n world will be a better place," hinting solution was democracy and giving Chinese people liberties.