China Should Consider Counter Measures against the US

The U.S. Department of State announced on Feb. 9, local time, that it will include legal entities and individuals from Iran, Syria and China on the sanctions list, claiming that the behaviors of the relevant entities involve the “manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, cruise or ballistic missiles.” According to the “Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act” of the U.S. and associated government regulations, the U.S. government shall not have any trade or technical exchanges with enterprises that were sanctioned, while enterprises that were sanctioned shall not purchase American weapons and military equipment. It is reported that corporations, including China Poly Technology Ltd., as well as relevant individuals have been included on the sanctions list. This announcement by the United States is a downright hegemonic act that will seriously damage the construction and operation of the international non-proliferation system and Sino-U.S. cooperation in this field, as well as the healthy and stable development of Sino-U.S. relations. The United States must immediately correct the error and revoke the unreasonable sanctions against relevant Chinese companies and individuals. Otherwise, the United States will only shoot itself in the foot and taste the bitter fruit when the loss outweighs the gain.

Firstly, the international non-proliferation system is not a private shop owned by the U.S. government. Its construction and operation should involve the participation of governments and people around the world and not be dominated by the United States only. The act of using domestic laws, implementing unreasonable sanctions against foreign enterprises and individuals and violating the norms of international relations under the banner of safeguarding the international non-proliferation system by the United States is a downright hegemonic act that the international community will not accept.

Secondly, the United States is playing the trick of a thief yelling “catch the thief” to distract everyone while he gets away: the U.S. shouts the slogan of safeguarding the international non-proliferation system and advocating the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction on the one hand, while trying to cooperate with allies to build a global anti-missile system and spread related equipment and technology on the other hand. What’s more, the United States is using its domestic laws, stubbornly insisting on selling advanced weapons to part of Taiwan. In fact, the United States is not maintaining the international non-proliferation system, but trying to limit other countries from developing military technology and power in order to maintain and strengthen its global hegemony in military might.

Thirdly, the United States has deceived itself as well as others, acted absurdly and lost all of its credit. It is not the first time that the United States has sanctioned and threatened Chinese enterprises under the name of safeguarding the non-proliferation system. The facts illustrate that on many occasions, the intelligence and information from the infamous CIA is frequently wrong. The "Milky Way" incident that occurred between China and the United States in July 1993 due to misinformation, hegemonic overreach and power politics on the U.S. side is a typical case. The allegations of the U.S. often have no basis in fact and are therefore not worth believing. The announcement of sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals this time also has no reliable evidence. Poly Technology Ltd. clearly stated on Feb. 11 that it has never aided any country or region in the development of banned weapons, nor exported or promised to export illegal products and technology to any country or region that was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council in the past decades.

Fourthly, the unjustifiable sanctions that the United States implemented unilaterally against Chinese enterprises and individuals will seriously damage efforts at cooperation between the two countries in the field of non-proliferation, as well as the healthy and stable development of Sino-U.S. relations. As we all know, the Chinese government and people have always been committed to the maintenance of the development and effective operation of the international non-proliferation system, and took real actions to establish a set of laws and measures on export regulation consistent with the international standards that was strict and effective, winning the praise of the international community. The United States not only turns a blind eye to China's unremitting efforts, but also defames normal trade and economic activities of Chinese enterprises based on hearsay and uses sanctions as a threat at every turn, which fully exposed its hegemonic mentality to maintain its personal interests and nefarious intentions to discredit China’s image. The United States will not get any benefits in doing so. Ultimately, it will only hurt itself and taste the bitter fruit.

The U.S. government should understand that he who is unjust is doomed to destruction. If the United States does not sincerely correct the wrong practices immediately, revoking the unjustifiable sanctions on Chinese businesses and individuals, China should consider taking counter measures, including suspending Sino-U.S. cooperation in the field of non-proliferation, in order to safeguard its own interests and to help the United States straighten up and fly right.

The author, Zurong Wu, is a researcher at China Foundation for International Studies.