Beyond a zero-sum game

At a time when China is fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic with all its might, some US politicians seem to be putting on a callous burlesque, dumbfounding the rest of the world.

At an international security conference in Munich, Germany, top US officials, notably US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were busy selling fake fear about China.

They tried to tag Beijing as an ideological antagonist of the West and a threat to what they see as a US-led world order, and hysterically smeared China's hi-tech company Huawei in a bid to prevent it from carrying out 5G cooperation with America's European allies.

A recently published book titled "Fake Fear: America and China Relations" argues that "Washington is currently besieged by hawkish policy-makers. In their eyes, China is indeed a cause for fear."

The book, written by Chinese scholar Xin Jiyan, offers a rational narrative about the historical, cultural and economic aspects of China-US ties, and makes a strong case that it is high time that those China hawks in Washington abandoned their zero-sum mentality.

In the universe of those US decision-makers who view China as a strategic rival, the United States should always rule supreme, and others, even Washington's European allies, should always follow.

Anxious to keep "America First," the zero-summers in Washington have waged a global tariff campaign against almost all of US major trading partners, assaulted multilateralism by leaving such key global governance institutions as the World Trade Organization in paralysis, and sought to sabotage China's rising capabilities in such key areas as the next generation of mobile communications by trying to shut Huawei out in the 5G business.

"We lied, we cheated, we stole." Perhaps what Pompeo's thick-skinned candor revealed when he addressed an event at Texas A&M University last year can serve as a convincing footnote of Washington's addiction to staying at the top of the world.

It seems that those US politicians are still living in an old world where might makes right and one's gain is another's loss. It is a different world now, one in which no nation should be high up above all others, and all countries need to come together for a better shared future of humanity.

In this increasingly interconnected world, the rise of China does not necessarily entail the decline of the United States or the Western bloc. The current battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic is one sobering reminder that the fate of all nations is intertwined.

Since the epidemic broke out in China, the Chinese government has taken rapid and resolute measures to prevent the deadly virus from spreading further. It also has been sharing information with the rest of the world and enhancing international cooperation in a timely manner.

No one can stand alone in this global village in face of such a crisis as well as many other global challenges such as climate change and terrorism.

Washington needs to recognize this new global trend, abandon the zero-sum mindset, and work with China as well as other countries to make this world a better place. Hyping up fake fear on China serves no one's interests.