“Is it possible to work out a rapprochement or an easing of tensions between (China and the United States)?”
How does the Chinese government view the United States at this historical juncture?
To get an idea of just how Beijing looks at the US, there’s a February 2023 paper issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs titled “US hegemony and its perils.”
This is the latest pronouncement and as official as it gets, so I’m publishing pertinent parts of it as written.
Here’s what it said.
“Since becoming the world’s most powerful country after the two world wars and the Cold War, the United States has acted more boldly to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, pursue, maintain and abuse hegemony, advance subversion and infiltration, and willfully wage wars, bringing harm to the international community.
“The United States has developed a hegemonic playbook to stage ‘color revolutions’, instigate regional disputes, and even directly launch wars under the guise of promoting democracy, freedom and human rights. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States has ramped up bloc politics and stoked conflict and confrontation.
“It has overstretched the concept of national security, abused export controls and forced unilateral sanctions upon others.
“It has taken a selective approach to international law and rules, utilizing or discarding them as it sees fit, and has sought to impose rules that serve its own interests in the name of upholding a ‘rules-based international order.’”
Political Hegemony—Throwing Its Weight Around: “The United States has long been attempting to mold other countries and the world order with its own values and political system in the name of promoting democracy and human rights.
“Instances of US interference in other countries’ internal affairs abound.
“In the name of ‘promoting democracy,’ the United States practiced a ‘Neo-Monroe Doctrine’ in Latin America, instigated ‘color revolutions’ in Eurasia, and orchestrated the ‘Arab Spring’ in West Asia and North Africa, bringing chaos and disaster to many countries.
“The US exercises double standards on international rules.
“Placing its self-interest first, the United States has walked away from international treaties and organizations, and put its domestic law above international law.”
Military Hegemony—Wanton Use of Force: “The history of the United States is characterized by violence and expansion.
“Since it gained independence in 1776, the United States has constantly sought expansion by force: it slaughtered Indians, invaded Canada, waged a war against Mexico, instigated the American-Spanish War, and annexed Hawaii.
“After World War II, the wars either provoked or launched by the United States included the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War, the Libyan War and the Syrian War, abusing its military hegemony to pave the way for expansionist objectives.”
Economic Hegemony — Looting and Exploitation: “After World War II, the United States led efforts to set up the Bretton Woods System, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which, together with the Marshall Plan, formed the international monetary system centered around the US dollar.
“In addition, the United States has also established institutional hegemony in the international economic and financial sector by manipulating the weighted voting systems, rules and arrangements of international organizations including ‘approval by 85 percent majority,’ and its domestic trade laws and regulations.”
Technological Hegemony — Monopoly and Suppression: “The United States seeks to deter other countries’ scientific, technological and economic development by wielding monopoly power, suppression measures and technology restrictions in high-tech fields…
“It monopolizes intellectual property in the name of protection.
“Taking advantage of the weak position of other countries, especially developing ones, on intellectual property rights and the institutional vacancy in relevant fields, the United States reaps excessive profits through monopoly. “
Cultural Hegemony—Spreading False Narratives: “The global expansion of American culture is an important part of its external strategy.
“The United States has often used cultural tools to strengthen and maintain its hegemony in the world.
“The United States embeds American values in its products such as movies. American values and lifestyle are a tied product to its movies and TV shows, publications, media content, and programs by the government-funded non-profit cultural institutions.
“It thus shapes a cultural and public opinion space in which American culture reigns and maintains cultural hegemony.”
Conclusion: “While a just cause wins its champion wide support, an unjust one condemns its pursuer to be an outcast.
“The hegemonic, domineering, and bullying practices of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm…
“The United States must conduct serious soul-searching. It must critically examine what it has done, let go of its arrogance and prejudice, and quit its hegemonic, domineering and bullying practices.”
Given this official pronouncement, we ask: Is it possible to work out a rapprochement or an easing of tensions between them?
To be honest, we really don’t know, given the wide gulf in their relations.
But at this point, we prefer to give the reader the option to make a conclusion.
We report, you decide.
(Email: [email protected])
