Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a great speech to the Center for Policy Studies in London on Wednesday.

Matching confidence in the special relationship with an honest call to recognize Chinese aggression, Pompeo was both diplomatic and deliberate. Pompeo started with a familiar homage to the special relationship.

"Your sailors have berths on American ships. The United Kingdom was spending 2% of GDP on defense well before President Trump demanded it of every NATO member. But even the vast sums of money are a pittance compared to the British blood that has been spilled fighting alongside us for decades. For this, we are grateful," he said.

Noting his former tenure as CIA director, Pompeo noted how he saw "everyday the incredible value of our British partners. MI6, MI5, GCHQ, each of them delivering to keep the American people more safe and secure." And the secretary joked about GCHQ's (Britain's signal intelligence service) high-competence at hard target penetration. "In fact, I'm sure they were listening to me on my flight in." Pompeo paused and smiled, "Yeah, that will come back to haunt me."

Pledging ongoing support against Russian aggression in Europe, Pompeo also pushed the prospect of a U.S.-U.K. free trade deal (a top British priority): "Whatever happens, you should know, we will honor that decision." Repudiating previous comments from President Barack Obama, Pompeo added, "You'll be first in line for a new trade deal."

But while rightly supportive of the U.S.-U.K. special relationship, Pompeo expressed concern over Britain's relationship with China. Although Prime Minister Theresa May's government has supported U.S. military efforts in the Pacific, tensions exist over her consideration of Chinese telecommunications access to Britain's 5G network. "I know it’s a sensitive topic," the secretary said, "but we have to talk about sensitive things as friends. As a matter of Chinese law, the Chinese government can rightfully demand access to data flowing through Huawei and ZTE systems. Why would anyone grant such power to a regime that has already grossly violated cyberspace?"

Pompeo warned what might happen if Britain embraces Huawei: "insufficient security will impede the United States' ability to share certain information with trusted networks." It's a serious threat but one that Britain should recognize as honest. Its own intelligence services say that Huawei's security threat to the U.K. market cannot be constrained. Here, at least, Britain should imitate the Trump administration and tell Chinese spies to get lost.

Ultimately, this was a speech in the finest tradition of the special relationship. A speech of honest friendship.

Watch it below.