The ins-and-outs of the unfolding Ukraine issue are crystal clear. The moves of the US-led NATO have escalated the tension between Russia and Ukraine to the breaking point.
The US, instead of taking real actions to ease the situation, has been incessantly adding fuel to the flame, heightening the conflict, forcing other countries to pick sides and creating a chilling effect of “friend or foe”.
What could this represent other than hegemony and bullying? The US has also been constantly spreading disinformation to smear China and distort China’s responsible position of facilitating peace talks.
It harbors the agenda to shift the blame, make provocations, profit from the situation and seek space to hold down China and Russia simultaneously. What could this be other than hegemony and bullying?
The Ukraine issue has revealed what the US would do in pursuit of hegemony and bullying. But the list of US practices of the same nature goes on. Holding on to the Cold War mentality, the US is obsessed with drawing ideological lines when forming closed and exclusive cliques and stoking opposition and confrontation.
The real agenda is to prolong US hegemony and power politics. Under the go-to banner of democracy, freedom and human rights, the US instigates “color revolutions” that provoke regional disputes, and goes so far as to directly wage wars against other countries that aggravate tensions in the regional and global security situation.
The scheme is to cash in on instability for huge economic interests and geopolitical advantage. Willfully wielding the baton of unilateral sanctions, the US also engages in economic coercion that severely undermines the stability of global industrial and supply chains. The move aims at suppressing and containing other countries. Following international law and international rules as it sees fit, the US applies the self-claimed “rules-based order” as the “rules of the gang” to defend power politics and hegemony.
Peace and development present an overriding trend and gains the overwhelming support. The US bullying and hegemonic practices against the trend of the times have been met with stronger criticism and rejection in the international community. The US should face up to the public opinion of the world, including China, discard the Cold War and zero-sum mentality as well as the obsolete thinking of seeking its absolute security at the expense of others at an early date, and return to the path of upholding international equity and justice.
Zhao Lijian, deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department
EAST AND WEST 