Washington's defense of hegemony outdated: China Daily editorial

The United States has become accustomed to its hegemony in global affairs, and this shapes its way of thinking and acting. Indeed, it puts its hegemony above anything else. And that end justifies any means no matter how debased it may be.

To this end, international laws, rules for free trade and human rights principles are all tools it is willing to use to maintain its status.

That is why Huawei is in its crosshairs. Having developed the most advanced technology and equipment for 5G networks, the Chinese telecommunications giant poses a threat not to national security but to the US' long-established tech supremacy.

But the US government is going too far in its efforts to put Huawei out of business. The State Department has reportedly asked telecom carriers and chipmakers to sign up to a set of principles which would in effect exclude Huawei, and possibly other Chinese companies, from the US market.

It could not be any clearer that the US government has no concern for competition laws and fairness in its attempts to curb the rise of Chinese technology companies, Huawei in particular.

It was reported that a separate proposal by the US Commerce Department would give the commerce secretary the power to block imports of any sensitive technology from a country dubbed a "foreign adversary". Little wonder some business leaders warn that such rules could slow down large swathes of the global technology trade.

And little wonder that US technology companies are concerned that they would have been the targets of a backlash if they had come together to act against a global competitor by following the US administration's request to stop sourcing supplies from some Chinese companies.

The way the US is trying to exclude Huawei from its domestic market and even drive it out of the global market will disrupt the global supply chain and slow down the global trade in technologies. And of course, it will hurt the development of its own technology sector as well.

5G is a product of global high-tech cooperation. The global industrial, supply and value chains are highly intertwined in this area, and it is highly irresponsible of the US administration to deliberately try and cut them, as it is damaging to the rules-based global order and multilateral economic and scientific cooperation.

The attacks on Huawei and other Chinese technology companies by the US administration are nothing but political protectionism. This is a dangerous trend that the international community should oppose, as not to do so would encourage the US to turn a business issue into a political one or even a security one whenever it feels its preeminent position in technology is being challenged.

National security is a common concern of all countries. Fabricating suspicions about another country's company just because it is the industry leader does a dangerous disservice to cybersecurity which can only be preserved with joint efforts in an open and transparent manner on the basis of trust.