U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a public discussion event with Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (not pictured) at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London, Britain, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool

LONDON (Reuters) - China is the central threat of our times and the United States and its allies must ensure they have the military and technological power to ensure that this century is governed by Western principles, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

“While we still have to be enormously vigilant about terror ... the Chinese Communist Party presents the central threat of our times,” Pompeo said on Thursday.