East Asia allies likely to bide time as U.S. election looms over Pompeo trip

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is seen giving his pre-recorded address to the 2020 Republican National Convention from Israel on a monitor set up in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A warm welcome and expressions of solidarity against China likely await U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week when he visits East Asia for the first time in over a year, but the looming U.S. election means Asian allies will think twice before making concrete promises to Washington.

Pompeo heads for Japan, Mongolia and South Korea on Sunday at a time when U.S. ties with Beijing are at their worst in decades in the face of the coronavirus, which originated in China and has now infected President Donald Trump, his wife Melania and millions of other Americans.