For tense US-China relations, blame Washington politicians

Geopolitical forecaster George Friedman recently attributed the worsening China-US relationship to China's own actions and foresaw a consequential loss of China's global significance, saying China's enemy is the country itself.

By scrutinizing the facts, one can quickly uncover the real enemy of China-US ties: US politicians and pundits engaged in toxic politics, who are adept at profiteering from provoking confrontation and distorting the truth, internationally and domestically.

In an interview with VOA Chinese last week, Mr. Friedman mentioned that China should not have systematically alienated the United States since the latter was its top trade partner, suggesting the trade tension between them is "unnecessary." He is mostly right, except that the initiator of the current trade war is former US President Donald Trump's administration, not Beijing.

US businesses and customers have been bearing the brunt of the tariffs for years. The American Action Forum, a Washington D.C.-based policy institute, found Trump's tariffs on global goods annually increased US consumer costs by roughly 51 billion US dollars based on 2021 import levels.

Despite repeated appeals by the business community, the current US administration has continued its predecessor's hard-line approach toward China.

As the US annual inflation rate in March accelerated to 8.5 percent, a 40-year record, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday finally admitted that lowering tariffs on Chinese goods is "worth considering," given the "desirable effects" on cooling down inflation.

Now that Washington is paying for the trade war it launched at the cost of American livelihoods, it is no longer in the position to practice its signature tough guy approach when trading with China.

Mr. Friedman also claimed China has a clearer understanding of the global might of the dollar from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Potential tough sanctions would deter it from militarily resolving the Taiwan question since any mismanagement could pose a high risk to its stability.

But the Taiwan question essentially differs from the Ukraine issue. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the question is purely China's internal affair. Don't underestimate the Chinese people's resolve and determination to uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Out of pure malice rather than ignorance, some US politicians and experts are knowingly linking up the two unrelated issues to cast China in an unfavorable light. Their real agenda is to sow a crisis across the Taiwan Strait to serve their perceived US geopolitical and economic interests at the price of regional peace and stability.

Meanwhile, Mr. Friedman's boasting of the weaponization of the dollar demonstrated how he and many others in Washington have taken US hegemony and interventionism for granted. But in an era of globalization, a dollar war is doomed to backfire.

As the whole world has witnessed, Western sanctions on Moscow due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict has already created great trouble for the global economy. More serious global consequences could follow should an economic war occur with China.

Toxic US politicians, who have been spreading conspiracy theories and encouraging conflicts for political and economic gain, are accountable for the tense US-China relations and painful repercussions. Blaming the victim is just a gimmick frequently deployed to mislead the public.