China’s Foreign Ministry briefing on US Hegemony and Its Perils
China’s
Foreign Ministry in February 2023 accused the US of interfering in the internal affairs of countries, willfully waging wars & bringing harm to the international community via ‘coloured revolutions’ on the pretext of promoting democracy, freedom & human rights. These are indeed a very strong set of accusations. China also accused US of overstretching ‘national security’ by abusing export controls, forcing unilateral sanctions & manipulating international laws & rules to US whims. China has exposed US abuse of hegemony in political, military, economic, financial, technological & cultural fields.
China divided US bullying into 5 areas – political, military, economic, technological & cultural hegemony
- Political hegemony
China accused US of throwing its weight, forcing nations to follow its “values” by using term “promoting democracy” to interfere in internal affairs of countries (neo-Monroe Doctrine in Latin America & coloured revolutions in Eurasia (Rose Revolution in Georgia/ Orange Revolution in Ukraine / Tulip Revolution in Kyrgystan), “Arab Spring” in West Asia & North Africa. US State Dept openly admitted to playing role in regime change. The 1823 Monroe Doctrine was not America for Americans but America for the US. US maxim is those who submit will prosper, those who resist shall perish, yet those who submit don’t prosper.
- 61 year hostility & blockade of Cuba
- Overthrow of Chile’s Allende Got
- Interfering in internal affairs of Philippines ousting President Marcos Snr in 1986, ousting President Estrada in 2001 through “People Power Revolution”
- US intervention in Venezuela to force Maduro govt to reach agreement with Opposition, deprive Venezuela’s ability to sell oil & gold for foreign exchange, pressure its economy, influence 2018 Presidential election, was revealed in former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s book “Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I love”
China accused US of double standards in international rules
- US walking away from international treaties & organizations putting US self-interest first
- April 2017 Trump administration declared it was cutting US funding to UNFPA, US quit UNESCO twice in 1984 & 2017.
- In 2017 US announced it was leaving Paris Agreement on Climate Change
- In 2018 US announced exit from UNHRC claiming it was biased against Israel.
- In 2019 US announced withdrawal from Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
- In 2020 US announced withdrawal from Treaty on Open Skies
- US also blocks biological arms control & opposes negotiations on protocol for Biological Weapons Convention – US is the only country in possession of chemical weapons stockpile & has repeatedly delayed destruction of chemical weapons & refuses to fulfil its obligations.
- US uses its “alliance system” to force “Indo-Pacific Strategy” onto Asia-Pacific region via “Five Eyes” “The Quad” “AUKUS” & forcing countries to take US side. This has created division, confrontation & undermining peace.
- US passes judgement manipulating “democracy” – the 1st “Summit for Democracy” held in 2021 December ended up in US making a mockery of the spirit of democracy & dividing the world.
- Military hegemony
American history is all about violence & expansionism. US gained independence in 1776. US stands guilty of slaughtering native Indians, invading Canada, waging war against Mexico, instigating US-Spanish War, annexing Hawaii.
Post-World War 2 – US stands guilty of provoking or launched wars
- Korean War
- Vietnam War
- Gulf War
- Kosovo War
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Libya
- Syria
- US used chemical & biological weapons like cluster bombs, fuel-air bombs, graphite bombs & depleted uranium bombs in Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan & Iraq.
US annual military budget exceeds $700billion (i.e. 40% of world’s total & more than budgets of 15 countries combined)
US has about 800 military bases overseas – 173,000 troops in 159 countries
China claims US has fought or has been militarily involved with almost all the 190-odd UN recognized countries with exception of 3 as the US could not find these 3 on the map!
Former US President Jimmy Carter claims US is the most warlike nation in world history.
As per Tufts University report on US Military interventions covering 1776-2019 US has undertaken 400 military interventions, 34% in Latin America & Caribbean, 23% in East Asia & Pacific, 14% in Middle East & North Africa & 13% in Europe.
Alex Lo, a columnist of the South China Morning Post claims US rarely distinguishes between diplomacy & war since 1776.
- US has overthrown democratically elected governments in developing countries
- US replaces democratic leaders with US-puppet regimes
- US wages proxy wars in Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Pakistan & Yemen
US military hegemony & humanitarian tragedies
- Since 2001, US wars/military operations claiming to fight terrorism has killed 900,000 people of whom 335,000 are civilians. Millions have been injured & tens of millions are displaced.
- US is responsible for creating 37million refugees
- 2003 Iraq War – 200,000 -250,000 civilian deaths includes over 16,000 directly killed by US military
- More than 1 million homeless
- 2012 Syria – refugees has increased tenfold. 2016-2019 – 33,584 civilian deaths includes 3833 killed by US-led coalition bombings (half being women & children)
- As per Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) US air strikes on Raqqa on 9 Nov 2018 killed 1600 Syrian civilians.
- 20 years US presence in Afghanistan destroyed a nation – 47,000 Afghan civilians were killed, 66,000-69,000 Afghan soldiers & police officers were killed in US military operations with more than 10million displaced Aghans. Afghans who had no links to 9/11 were plunged into destitution. In 2021 US announced it was freezing $9.5b in assets belonging to Afghan Central Bank (many considered this “pure looting”)
- In Sept 2022 Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu declared US had waged a proxy war in Syria, turned Afghanistan into an opium field & heroin factory, thrown Pakistan into turmoil & left Libya in civil unrest. These were countries with underground resources that US wanted to tap by enslaving nations & their people first & creating irreversible environmental pollution.
- Economic hegemony
Post-World War 2 – US set up Bretton Woods System, IMF, World Bank combined with Marshall Plan created the international monetary system around the US dollar as international reserve currency.
Institutional hegemony in international economic & financial sector by manipulating voting system at international forums. This is how US coerces countries politically & economically.
China calls US hegemony “seigniorage”. US spends 17cents to produce a $100 bill but countries have to pay $100 of actual goods to obtain it. US $ was used to plunder resources/factories of nations. The US$ is the main source of instability in world economy. John Connally, President Nixon’s Treasury Secretary once said “the dollar is our currency, but it is your problem”
Even during Covid-19 US abused its global financial hegemony & injected trillions of dollars into the global market forcing emerging economies to pay the price.
In 2022, the US Federal Bank increased interest rates creating turmoil in international financial markets & causing depreciation in currencies including the Euro. This caused developing nations to suffer high inflation, currency depreciation & capital outflows.
US took control over international economic & financial organizations & thereafter imposed conditions on countries to obtain their assistance with recipient countries having to advance financial liberalization & open up financial markets to align with US strategy.
According to the Review of International Political Economy – the IMF has extended 1550 debt relief programs to 131 member countries from 1985 – 2014 placing 55,465 political conditions attached to the relief package.
US suppressing opponents via coercion as a geopolitical weapon:
1980s – realizing Japan may pose an economic threat & to use Japan as a strategic tool against Soviet Union, US came up with the Plaza Accord resulting in Japan forced to open its financial market & reform financial system. Any nation not following US dictates are slapped with unilateral sanctions & “long-arm jurisdiction”.
China names some of these acts/actions – International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act upon specific nations, organizations & individuals.
China claims that US sanctions on foreign entities increased by 933% from 2000 to 2021. The Trump administration had imposed more than 3900 sanctions.
US has imposed economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries across the world including Cuba, China, Russia & North Korea, Iran, Venezuela – impacting nearly half the world’s population.
China calls US the “United States of Sanctions” & “Long-Arm Jurisdiction” to suppress economic competitors & interfere in normal international business which violates principles of liberal market economy that US boasts about.
- Technological hegemony – Monopoly & Suppression
China accuses US of suppressing scientific, technological & economic development of other countries by monopolizing intellectual property in the name of “protection”.
In 1980s US launched “301” investigation to contain Japan’s development of semiconductor industry by threatening to label Japan as conducting unfair trade & imposed retaliatory tariffs forcing Japan to sign the US-Japan Semiconductor Agreement. This resulted in Japanese semiconductor enterprises almost driven out of global competition & market share dropping from 50% to 10% – the market share was grabbed by US semiconductor enterprises.
In 1994 the Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Protection monopolized technology.
US politicizes & weaponizes technological issues as ideological tools.
US suppressed & sanctioned Chinese company Huawei – restricting entry of Huawei products to US market, cut off its supply of chips & operating systems & coerced countries to ban Huawei from undertaking local 5G network construction.
US even got Canada to detain Huawei’s CFO Men Wanzhou for nearly 3 years.
US has put over 1000 Chinese enterprises on sanctions list & imposed controls on biotechnology, artificial intelligence & other high-end technologies.
US has also tightened investment screening, suppressed Chinese social media apps such as TikTok & WeChat
US has lobbied Netherlands & Japan to restrict exports of chips & related equipment or technology to China.
US has imposed controls on biotechnology, artificial intelligence & other high-end technologies.
US double standard policy towards China-related technological professionals by sidelining & suppressing Chinese researchers since June 2018, shortening visa for Chinese exchange-program students who are majoring in high-tech related disciplines in US. US also began investigating Chinese scholars working in US.
US monopolizes technology on the pretext of protecting democracy & labels like human rights
US builds small blocs on technology – “chips alliance” / “clean network”.
These terms camouflage US technological blockade against countries.
In May 2019 US enlisted 32 countries to the Prague 56 Security Conference in the Czech Republic. Prague Proposal issued excluding China’s 5G products.
In April 2020, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced “5G clean path” a plan to build a technological alliance in the 5G field with partners bonded by their shared ideology on democracy & need to protect “cyber security”. Technological alliances are technological hegemony carrying out cyber attacks, cyber hackers, cyber surveillance & cyber & data thefts manipulating mobile apps, cloud servers, & undersea cables. Cyber surveillance include “Prism” “Dirtbox” “Irritant Horn” & “Telescreen Operation”.
US surveillance targets both allies & rivals. Even former German Chancellor Angela Merkel & French Presidents have been victims.
Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks exposed US surveillance programs “only one rule: there are no rules”.
- Cultural hegemony – Spreading False Narratives
Cultural tool is another US external strategy to maintain its hegemony.
American values & lifestyle is spread via its movies, tv shows, publications, media content & govt-funded NGOs. John Yemma, an American scholar in “The Americanization of the World” exposed how Hollywood, Coca Cola, Mattel Company occupy more than 70% of world’s market share & maintains its cultural hegemony.
The movies tie up cultural hegemony & media that shapes global opinion in favor of US meddling in internal affairs.
Media freedom as per US is censoring social media outlets & demanding they abide US policy.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk admitted that all social media platforms work with US govt to censor content (27 Dec 2022 – Fox Business Network)
Public opinion in the US is determined by US govt. Google is famous for “disappearing” pages.
US Defense Dept manipulates social media – in Dec 2022, The Intercept (independent US investigative website) revealed that in 2017 US Central Command official Nathaniel Kahler instructed Twitters public policy team to augment presence of 52 Arabic-language accounts as per list he sent with 6 to be given priority. One of the 6 justified US drone attacks in Yemen & killed terrorists not civilians. Twitter followed Kahlers directive & created a “white list” to amplify messages in Arabic-language accounts. Is this media freedom?
US & EU bar mainstream Russian media – Russia Today & Sputnik. Twitter, Facebook & Youtube openly restrict official accounts of Russia. Netflix, Apple, Google have removed Russian channels from their services & app stores. Is this media freedom?
Cultural & Media hegemony is used to create “peaceful evolution” in non-liberal socialist countries. US govt lavishly spends American public funds to support their ideological infiltration & propaganda 24×7 to brainwash people’s minds. US uses misinformation to attack countries, they have an army of groups & individuals trained to make up stories, relay them in every language under the sun.
The US policy is to use force & subterfuge weak nations after making them weak. US uses its self-interest for its hegemonic practices. China says that US needs to learn to respect nations & treat them as equals. China’s foreign ministry says that China opposes all forms of hegemonism & power politics & rejects interference in other countries internal affairs. China advises US to ‘let go of its arrogance & prejudice & quit its hegemonic domineering & bullying practices”.
An excellent expose by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry on US double standards & duplicity – with American public opinion manipulated by the State it is no surprise the Americans are clueless about what its govt is upto in all parts of the world while US media feeds them lies.
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202302/21/WS63f40722a31057c47ebafd61.html
Shenali D Waduge
