Speaking in a radio interview for the Brian Kilmeade Show this Wednesday, Pompeo called China’s alleged theft of intellectual property “inappropriate” and “not consistent with being a superpower or a leader in the world.”
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“Stealing another country’s intellectual property, something China’s been engaged in to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, is just something China has to figure out a way to stop,” he said.
Later that day, Pompeo also commented to the Laura Ingraham radio show, calling China the biggest challenge to US national security so far and explaining that Trump administration is trying to push back on all possible fronts.
“Where the semiconductor piece fits in is it’s part of a mosaic of our strategic effort to push back against this continued Chinese effort. It is a multi-pronged effort on behalf of all of the United States Government, at the President’s direction, to convince China to behave like a normal nation on commerce and with respect to the rules of international law,” he said.
US Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month accused China of “malign” efforts to undermine Trump ahead of next Tuesday's congressional elections and reckless military actions in the disputed territories in the South China Sea. China denied all allegations and rejected the charges.
US President Donald Trump accused China of the intellectual property theft as part of his ongoing trade war with Beijing. Both countries have introduced billions of dollars in tariffs on each other’s goods.