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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo To Deliver 'Major' China Speech At Nixon Library In Yorba Linda

YORBA LINDA (CBSLA) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday will be in Orange County to give a "major speech" on the U.S. relationship to China, as tensions between the two countries continues to grow.

The speech will be delivered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda at 1:40 p.m.

BRITAIN-US-DIPLOMACY
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (unseen) at Lancaster House in London on July 21, 2020. (Photo by Peter SUMMERS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PETER SUMMERS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House said the speech will focus on "Communist China and the future of the free world."

Pompeo allegedly chose the Nixon Library because of the upcoming 50th anniversary of President Nixon's trip to China back in February of 1972, the White House said.

The speech will be closed to the public. The library itself has been closed since mid-March.

On Wednesday, the White House ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in order over allegations of intellectual property theft and ongoing disputes over trade and human rights, according to CBS News.

Pompeo told reporters during a joint press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod that the U.S. is "setting out clear expectations for how the Chinese Communist Party is going to behave."

"When they don't, we're going to take actions that protect the American people, protect our security, our national security and also protect our economy and jobs," he said when asked about the consulate's closing.

To watch the speech online, click here.

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