West ‘doesn’t have the tools’ to tackle China, says Mike Pompeo

The West is not ready for the “current confrontation” with China, the US secretary of state has said as he suggested that Nato needed more resources to counter any threat.

Speaking to a group of MPs on Tuesday, Mike Pompeo said Washington had provided “extra money” and some “of our best China people” to help the Western military alliance understand the “strength of the Chinese military”.

However, he pointed out that none of the MPs present had suggested that Nato or other existing international bodies were the “appropriate mechanism” for dealing with Beijing. Mr Pompeo added that China’s place on the United Nations security council meant there was “zero probability” that the organisation would be able to deal with its failure to live up to its international obligations.

He also said there were many “tools” that could be used, such as the G7, but it remained to be seen “whether any of those is fit for purpose”.

During his meeting with the so-called “China hawks” in London, Mr Pompeo was asked whether the West should “assemble” over the next 12 to 18 months to halt Beijing’s aggression.

Responding, he told those present: “There have been institutions like this that have been created throughout time: the UN, Nato. In the face of an enormous authoritarian threat, the world has often responded through international multilateral institutions.

“None of you has suggested those as an appropriate mechanism. We think that the veto on the national security council makes it a zero-probability event that the UN is the thing. Perhaps there are elements. We’ve provided some support in Nato with extra US money. Some of our best China people [are] inside of Nato to talk about the threat of the strength of the Chinese military, to try to bring Nato’s knowledge level up. So, we think there’s a piece that Nato could possibly do.

“But, I think it’s probably going to take [something else]. You have the G7, there’s lots of tools out there. We just have to decide whether any of those is fit for purpose. I also think that they’re not shaped right for this current confrontation. We’ve started thinking about this an awful lot, I’ve talked to your Foreign Secretary about this. I don’t know the answer.”

It came as Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, on Wednesday appeared to distance the UK from Mr Pompeo’s allegations that Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation’s director-general, had been “bought by the Chinese government”.

Mr Shapps countered that the WHO was “on balance, a force for good in the world”.

The WHO said that it strongly rejected “any ad hominem attacks and unfounded allegations” and that it urged “countries to remain focused on tackling the pandemic that is causing tragic loss of life and suffering”.