China says Pompeo's lies bankrupt his credibility

The war of words between China and the United States escalated on Thursday (May 21), with China's foreign ministry spokesman saying U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had bankrupted his credibility to the world with numerous lies.

"Once again Mr. Pompeo made irresponsible remarks, and he has played to perfection the part of an extremely irresponsible politician. But his numerous lies have bankrupted his credibility in the world."

It comes after Pompeo said on Wednesday (May 20) that the recent treatment of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong made it more difficult to assess that the territory remains highly autonomous from China - a requirement for the special treatment it enjoys under American law.

The Chinese foreign ministry's office of the commissioner to Hong Kong said in a statement on Thursday (May 21) that Pompeo was "blackmailing" the Hong Kong government and blatantly interfering in Beijing's internal affairs.

Pompeo was also not holding back on China's response to the global coronavirus crisis.

"China's contributions to fighting the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world. The United States has responded with about 10 billion dollars to benefit the international response, everything from vaccine research to funding for preparedness efforts and humanitarian aid. That's compared to a promise of two billion dollars from the Chinese."

On Thursday (May 21), Beijing hit back.

"With regard to COVID-19, as the Secretary of State of the Unites States, Mr. Pompeo should tell the world why the U.S. government didn't take strong prevention and control measures between January and March, why it was for such a long time against people wearing masks, and why it failed to stem the fast spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.. He has a responsibility to explain to the world."

With fatalities and economic losses still rising, the international fallout from the pandemic has a while to run yet.