“Sometimes I’ll hear folks talk about trade and economic issues as separate from national security,” he said. “Let’s make no mistake about it, China’s capacity, the People’s Liberation Army’s capacity to do exactly what they are doing is a direct result of the trade relationships.”

The idea that trade and military power go hand in hand is nothing new in geopolitics, of course. But what emerged there in the library, and throughout Mr. Pompeo’s tour of the region, is an American view of China that encapsulates how the Trump administration views the world: through the lens of having been wronged, for far too long, by far too many.

In the United States, as the 2020 campaign begins, the approach is sometimes referred to as grievance politics (white grievance, in particular). Internationally, it looks more like the politics of retaliation.

President Trump has repeatedly sought to punish other countries, including allies like Mexico and Canada, for what he perceives as attempts to take advantage of the United States. China is simply his biggest target — the country that’s inspired the most frustration in the United States, and not just within the White House. The call to “do something about China” spans political parties at a time when few other subjects do.

And increasingly, there is the expectation that other countries will fall in line.

Notice how Mr. Pompeo answered the question, “How worried should Australians be about the rise of China as a great power?”

“We have to be very, very careful. America sat — I think the world, frankly, watched for too long. We were asleep at the switch as China began to behave in ways that it had not done before. So whether that’s efforts to steal data across networks … or militarize the South China Sea, something President Xi promised the world he would not do; or engage in activities where they foist money on nations that are desperate for resources and leave them trapped in debt positions which ultimately aren’t about commercial transactions but are about political control — those are the kind of things that I think everyone needs to have their eyes wide open with respect to. The United States certainly does, and we welcome China’s continued growth, but it’s got to be right. It’s got to be fair. It’s got to be equitable. It’s got to be reciprocal. They have to behave in a way that ensures that the value sets that Australia and the United States have continue to be the rules by which the entire world engages.”

In that answer, I count three related threads. First, there is that sense of outrage — I could hear it in Mr. Pompeo’s voice. Second, there is the appeal to ideals like fairness; and third, there is the expectation of loyalty, not to nation, but to values.