U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on a trip to Greece, said Tuesday that Greece is welcome to join the “Clean Slate Network” and warned China’s Communist Party to use its economic power in the region to gain strategic influence over European democracies.
Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Greece comes as tensions continue to rise between Greece and Turkey over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. chief diplomat urged the two NATO members to resolve peacefully and quickly, through diplomatic dialogue, the dispute over air and sea claims and the crisis over the exploitation of natural resources in the region.
U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said, “I raised the issue of the Chinese Communist Party using its economic power in this region to try to gain strategic influence over the European democracies. We are very proud of that,” Secretary of State Pompeo said. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his team are developing and promoting Greece’s digital frontier, including a significant rollout of fifth-generation communications networks, and we are pleased that they have joined the clean network.”
Greece is seen as the strongest bridgehead for China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy with European countries. COSCO won a 35-year concession to operate the port of Piraeus after China spent large sums of money on Greek government bonds during the country’s debt crisis in 2009.
Pompeo warned of Communist China’s intentions for the region.
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment John Klatsch continued his visit to the European Union this week to promote the “Clean Grid” global initiative in Europe.
The U.S. earlier this year announced its Net Neutrality Initiative, a sweeping effort to remove “untrusted” Chinese equipment and technology products from five major sectors: carriers, mobile apps, app stores, web-based cloud services, and submarine cables, and called on countries to follow suit.
So far, the U.S. initiative appears to have received a broad and positive response in Europe and around the world.
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