When Americans Talk about Sanctions Against China, the Chinese Mostly Want to Respond, “Damn You!”

America and some of her influential groups often mention “sanctions against China." The Chinese are already sick of listening to these threats. For most Chinese, the words they mostly want to say back to the Americans are “Damn you!”

Today, an editorial in “Global Times” talks about America’s announcement on June 11. America declared that it will not impose sanctions on six countries, including India, Turkey and Taiwan, because they reduced their oil imports from Iran. As a result, out of all the countries that purchase a lot of oil from Iran, only China has been excluded from America’s "exemption list." The New York Times states that this situation creates "potential conflict" between America and China.

The editorial points out that the Chinese feel very annoyed when they listen to Americans talk about "sanctions." In regards to Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons, China's attitude is no different from that of America. However, the Chinese hate to be forced to follow U.S. orders, because this benefits America rather than China. In addition, America claims that the sanction is intended to force Iran to comply with anti-nuclear proliferation. However, her hidden motive is the subversion of Iran’s regime.

China needs to buy oil from Iran. The world's largest oil trade in emerging markets cannot be stopped just because of America. If we think of America’s actions as based on nobility, America has “forgotten” the difficulty that China will face when the U.S. sanctions Iran. From the general logic of international politics, America’s move is "deliberate." She wants to kill two birds with one stone, or even many, by weakening Iran and getting rid of a source of stable oil supply for China.

Can sanctions limit the research and development of nuclear weapons? Just look at North Korea as an example. No matter how weak Iran is, its ability to resist sanctions will be stronger than that of North Korea. In reality, Iran has strongly denied the development of nuclear weapons. The outside world also has no conclusive evidence that Iran is engaged in nuclear weapons development. Iran is still a member of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty and agrees to discuss the uranium enrichment issue with other countries. Now, America wants to strengthen sanctions against Iran by demolishing the platform for negotiation between the six oil importers and Iran.

America made a fool of herself when she accused Saddam Hussein's regime of possessing weapons of mass destruction. Afterward, America and the Western media played down America’s false propaganda toward Iran. America invaded Iraq because America believed Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. At last, America justified her invasion by saying that justice had been served by overthrowing Hussein’s dictatorship.

Would Iran’s nuclear issue be the latest version of "intelligence errors" in Iraq? The intention in having oil trading sanctioned is to drive Tehran into a corner. It is very likely that this sanction will ultimately cause war. Based on the consistent attitude of America toward Iran, it is very difficult to distinguish what Washington finds most difficult to tolerate — the danger of Iran's possession of nuclear weapons, or the Tehran regime?

We oppose the practice of using sanctions against Iran, home to 70 million people. Sanctions only cause harm to the citizens in the country that is being sanctioned. Especially without the resolute support of United Nations, America's sanctions should be seen as a barbaric abuse of power. China will not join in this barbaric act.

If America really wants to sanction China because it continues to buy oil from Iran, punishing relevant Chinese companies, China is obviously not unarmed. America and some of the influential groups there often mention “sanctions against China.” The Chinese are sick of these threats. For most Chinese, the words they most want to say back to Americans are "Damn you!"

However, most of the time, America and China are not two bulls that show their horns to each other. These two countries are perfectly capable of fighting each other without breaking ties to each other. Also, in regard to the negotiation of Iran’s nuclear issue, six countries are involved. China is only one of the parties. If the Chinese government had to go against America because of the Iran issue, the government would not receive any criticism from mainstream Chinese society because of this.

America is definitely not all-powerful. She cannot even fix the problems in Afghanistan or Iraq. In recent years, many parts of the world have been in turmoil. Each time, America goes to those countries and tries to “solve” the problems. However, America cannot set up a new way of doing things in those places. She seems to release and consume her potential by punishing and messing up other countries. She succeeds, in her own unique way, at maintaining her position as the world’s overlord.

However, if America wants to bring down Iran, the bet is too risky for her. This time, the probability of America winning is much smaller compared to the last few times.