The United States finally has an administration willing to secure America's freedom from the Chinese Communist Party — whatever it takes. //

Two days after the United States ordered China to close its consulate at Houston within 72 hours, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo clarified the Trump administration’s foreign policy on China in a major speech on July 23. Because shutting down a country’s diplomatic mission is a very serious and provocative step, many wonder if the Sino-U.S. relationship is in freefall and what that could mean for the rest of the world. So Pompeo’s speech couldn’t have come at a better time. //

The truth is that our policies — and those of other free nations — resurrected China’s failing economy, only to see Beijing bite the international hands that were feeding it. We opened our arms to Chinese citizens, only to see the Chinese Communist Party exploit our free and open society. China sent propagandists into our press conferences, our research centers, our high-schools, our colleges, and even into our PTA meetings …

We gave the Chinese Communist Party and the regime itself special economic treatment, only to see the CCP insist on silence over its human rights abuses as the price of admission for Western companies entering China. //

So if past policies failed, what is the Trump administration’s policy, and what result the administration hopes to achieve? According to Pompeo, the Trump administration’s new China policy is rooted in practicality. This begins with treating the CCP as who they are, not whom we wish them to be.

Pompeo pointed out: “We have to keep in mind that the CCP regime is a Marxist-Leninist regime. General Secretary Xi Jinping is a true believer in a bankrupt totalitarian ideology.” Therefore, “America can no longer ignore the fundamental political and ideological differences between our countries, just as the CCP has never ignored them.” Pompeo also revised President Reagan’s famous phrase, “Trust but verify” to “Distrust and verify” when dealing with the CCP. //

On one hand, it’s setting clear expectations of what the Sino-U.S. relationship should be — balanced, fair, and reciprocal. On the other hand, it’s confronting the CCP head-on, whether it’s about the South China Sea, human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the trade imbalance, or years of technology theft and political influence campaigns planted by the CCP within the United States.