Pompeo’s Visit to Beijing Tension-Filled Amid Worsening US–China Relations

Officials usher journalists out from the room during a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Oct. 8, 2018. ANDY WONG/AFP/Getty Images

In a rarity for Beijing diplomacy, no effort was made to disguise the frosty and tense atmosphere encountered by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had come for a one-day visit.

The likely cause was the landmark speech given by Vice President Mike Pence a few days ago, which has been likened by many to Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech in 1946 marking the beginning of the Cold War.