A clean hand wants no washing, noises will eventually disappear

Recently, the Sino-U.S. game has extended from trade war to public opinion. Most Chinese people agree with and support the policy and actions taken by their government, but there are also some voices distorting the facts and as well as China bashing from the Internet and the public:

The first is about so-called “China backtracking”, which said “China has backtracked on its commitments in the negotiations, resulting in the final breakdown of the negotiation”. In fact, since the U.S. unilaterally provoked Sino-U.S. economic and trade frictions in 2018, China has always committed to responding to U.S. concerns with the greatest patience and sincerity to actively seek solutions to trade imbalance between the two countries, and the two sides also have reached important consensus on trade issues. However, the U.S. side repeatedly broke on its own commitments and tried to force China to submit through extreme pressure, which has led to ups and downs in the negotiation process. Throughout the whole process of Sino-U.S. economic and trade consultation, who has backtracked on its commitments, the answer is clear.

The second voice is “China’s countermeasures are groundless”, which believes that the U.S. “is just right to safeguard its own interests, and China’s strong counteractions are unreasonable”. Is it reasonable for the U.S. to ignores China’s efforts for protecting intellectual property rights and improving business environment and to make up excuses to accuse China? Is it justified for the U.S. to suppress China by imposing tariffs, restricting investment and seriously affect world economic growth and international market order? Is it fair for the U.S. to use state machinery to block Chinese high-tech enterprises based on unwarranted “national security threats”? Is it reciprocal for the U.S. to ask China to make concessions and turn a deaf ear to China’s core concerns?

The third voice is “China is over-reacting”, which claims that “China has politicized Sino-U.S. economic and trade issues, over-exaggerated U.S. threat, and fostered extreme nationalist sentiments at home”. Since the National Security Strategy Report of the new U.S. administration in 2017 defined China as a “strategic competitor”, the U.S. has regularly wielded tariffs as a “big stick”, showing that the trade war is just part of the overall U.S. strategy towards China. The intention of the U.S. to provoke trade frictions was not the trade issue itself, but the scientific and technological progress and development model of China.

The fourth voice is “China is doomed to fail”, saying that China has many problems, and “trade war will certainly accelerate China’s failure”. Those people who hold such a view, on one hand, are badmouthing China with groundless accusations; on the other hand, are vigorously praising the strength and success of the U.S., ignoring its internal crisis and external challenges.

Under the complex domestic and international conditions, facing constantly emerging strange noises, we should not only recognize the essence to refute and clarify, but also maintain determination and keep confidence. We have reason to believe that Chinese society will unite unprecedentedly to deal with external challenges, including the trade war, and the noises that derogate China will eventually disappear.