Mike Pompeo announces new restrictions on Chinese diplomats in US

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on September 2 announced new restrictions on the Chinese diplomats in the United States. Pompeo said that the senior Chinese diplomats will now have to seek State Department approval prior to a visit on the US university campuses. He extended these limitations to cultural events held outside mission grounds that involved over 50 delegates. The State Department wrote a formal letter to the governing boards of the US universities, cautioning them about threats posed by the Chinese diplomats and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the US, according to reports. The restrictions, recently imposed by the US, are the retaliatory actions to restrictions slapped on the American delegates in China. Pompeo indicated that the US will ensure that it “thoroughly” investigated the Chinese embassy and “properly” identified consular social media accounts. At a live news conference, US Secretary of the State said that the US was demanding reciprocity. The access and treatment of American diplomats in China would be reflective of access the Chinese diplomats had in the US. Further upping the allegations, Pompeo lambasted the Chinese-funded Confucius Institute cultural centers on US campuses, saying, they were operating to recruit "spies and collaborators”. He warned to “shut down” all the facilities by the end of the year, 2020. Launching a series of verbal assaults on China, Pompeo said that the communist nation used these facilities operational to register foreign mission for "malign influence” and espionage, on similar lines as the Trump campaign had accused China a few days past. American diplomats in China face constant barriers to their work. Today, the @StateDept imposed new requirements on senior PRC diplomats conducting meetings and events in the U.S. We will always advocate for fair treatment of our diplomats abroad. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 2, 2020 Read: Trump Tweets 'Law & Order'; Pakistan's Islamabad DC Replies 'Noted. Action Will Be Taken' Read: Joe Biden Accuses Trump Of Ignoring COVID-19 Pandemic & Stoking Unrest But Solving Neither In response to Pompeo’s actions, China’s Washington embassy criticized US government’s move, saying, it was another unjustified restriction. China termed these restrictions as “barrier” on Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel. It accused the US of running counter to the “self-proclaimed” values of openness and freedom. In a letter Pompeo wrote to the US universities, accessed by the local broadcasters, Pompeo alleged that there were threats of illicit funding for research, intellectual property theft, intimidation of foreign students, and opaque talent recruitment efforts from China and diplomats. He asked the universities to ensure clean investments and endowment fundings by “disclosing Chinese firms” and banishing those involved in the human rights abuses. To discuss 'China' at ASEAN talks In a separate document, the US State Department said that contrary to the assumptions, the CI programs in the US were independently run in the country by institutions that made a conscious decision to opt for the Chinese language education system set up. It informed that the Secretary of the State Mike Pompey would participate in an East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' meeting, an Indo-Pacific countries virtual meeting, and ASEAN talks on September 9 where he plans to discuss China. Read: Nikki Haley Calls India America's 'real Friend', Hails Trump For Indo-Pacific Strategy Read: Trump, Biden Will Both Mark 9/11 Anniversary In Shanksville

Advertisement

Mike Pompeo announces new restrictions on Chinese diplomats in US

Pompeo lambasted the Chinese-funded Confucius Institute cultural centers on US campuses, saying, they were operating to recruit "spies and collaborators”.

Advertisement