China a long-term challenge across every front: Pompeo

WASHINGTON: China poses a long-term challenge to the United States across every front including trade and intellectual property rights, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

The US will demand a fair and reciprocal trade from China and President Donald Trump is determined to achieve it, he said.

"China is a long-term challenge. This challenge is across every front," Pompeo told American radio host Tony Katz on Thursday.


Stating that the US President has begun taking on the challenge of unfair trade, Pompeo said that America had very unfair trade with China and have had many administrations.

He said that the US has other sets of challenges, including China's continued efforts in the South China Sea.
Pompeo also informed of the Chinese being indicted for stealing intellectual property.

"Just this week, ten Chinese were indicted for stealing intellectual property, aviation-related intellectual property," he said.

"These are not the types of actions that countries that truly want to be part of the global community engage in, and we're pushing back against China across every one of those fronts to try and achieve that on behalf of the American people," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said that Russia also poses a challenge due to its large nuclear arsenal that threatens the entire world.

"Russia is a much smaller economy, but still maintains an enormously large nuclear arsenal, which threatens not only the United States but the world. President Trump has been really tough. We have done things to put pressure on Vladimir Putin and Russia in a way that no previous administration has," he said.