US offers to build UK's 5G and nuclear stations to end 'coercive' relationship with China

America has offered to build Britain's 5G and nuclear power stations so that the  "coercive and bullying" relationship with China can end, Mike Pompeo has said.

In a statement released yesterday the US Secretary of State said America stood with its “allies and partners against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) coercive bullying tactics”, as he cited reports that Beijing had threatened to punish HSBC and “break commitments to build nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom unless London allows Huawei to build its 5G network”.

HSBC is understood to have claimed that it could face reprisals in China if Huawei was blocked from selling equipment to the next generation of networks being built by Britain’s mobile operators.

Mark Tucker, the bank’s chairman, is understood to have made private representations to Boris Johnson’s advisers in which he warned Downing Street against a ban on Huawei in 5G.

Mr Pompeo, one of Donald Trump’s most trusted allies, warned that the CCP’s “browbeating of HSBC” should provide “a cautionary tale”, as he accused Beijing of using the “bank’s business in China as political leverage against London”.

“Beijing’s aggressive behavior shows why countries should avoid economic overreliance on China and should guard their critical infrastructure from CCP influence,” he added.

“The United States stands ready to assist our friends in the U.K. with any needs they have, from building secure and reliable nuclear power plants to developing trusted 5G solutions that protect their citizens’ privacy”.

Mr Pompeo has been vocal of his distrust of Huawei and has previously failed to  rule out cutting Britain’s access to US intelligence if it pursues a relationship with Huawei.

Last month the UK Government confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre had launched a review of Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G network in the wake of US sanctions.

During Prime Minister’s Questions today the Prime Minister said that while the UK should continue to work with the "great and rising power" of China it must feel "absolutely free" to raise concerns with Beijing.

Mr Johnson made the comments after he was pressed to publish a consultation paper on the UK's engagement with China following concerns over several issues, including Covid-19, Hong Kong and the involvement of Huawei in 5G.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader and one of the leaders of the newly formed Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (ipac) told The Daily Telegraph that the “free world” needed to “work together” to make the telecommunications market competitive again.

“The telecoms companies in the market right now who can build the network are no longer in the USA but in Scandinavia and South Korea,” he said.  Sir Iain added that 12 years ago “there were about 10 companies in this field”, but today outside China it was only Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson.

“Huawei has driven so many out of business with its subsidised business undercutting them all. We need to rebuild the industry.”

It comes after Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, warned that the West "cannot ignore the consequences of the rise of China".

Tobias Ellwood, Chairman of the Defence Select Committee, said that “when the man in charge of the world’s largest security alliance gives warning of a rising global threat, we should listen”.

“Britain and the United States must lead in re-setting Western foreign policy before other nations are ensnared into China’s web of political influence.

“Pompeo’s offer to stand with allies should be taken before the shifting global balance of power in China’s favour takes us closer to a bi-polar world and another Cold War.”