By Zhong Sheng
China on Jan. 21 decided to sanction 28 persons who have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and who have been mainly responsible for a series of crazy U.S. moves on China-related issues.
They include Michael R. Pompeo, Peter K. Navarro, Robert C. O’Brien, David R. Stilwell, Matthew Pottinger, Alex M. Azar II, Keith J. Krach, and Kelly D. K. Craft of the Trump administration as well as John R. Bolton and Stephen K. Bannon.
These individuals and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.
The righteous, reasonable and necessary countermeasure of China demonstrated the country’s firm resolution to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.
Over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the U.S., out of their selfish political interests and prejudice and hatred against China and showing no regard for the interests of the Chinese and American people, have planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-U.S. relations.
By doing this, they wanted to bring McCarthyism back to life, undermine China-U.S. relations, fan up confrontation between the two peoples, and hurt the basis for the two countries’ mutual trust, so as to take China and the U.S. back into the trap of major country conflicts and confrontations.
It was under the plots of these anti-China politicians that the last U.S. administration made a fundamental mistake in its strategies toward China, taking China as its largest strategic opponent and doing everything to oppress, slander and stigmatize the country. It has brought serious damages to China-U.S. relations and the most severe situation since the two countries established diplomatic ties.
To respect each other’s core interests is the foundation and a premise for developing China-U.S. relations. Issues relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang concern China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as core interests. None of them shall be subject to foreign interference. No country should expect China to trade its core interests away or tolerate any infringement on its sovereignty, security and development interests. Chinese people do not stir up troubles, and they are not cowards when involved in some. Those who seriously damage China’s national interests will eventually pay for their wrongdoings.
To promote healthy and stable development of China-U.S. ties not only conforms to the fundamental interests of both peoples, but also the expectation of the international society. The two major countries shall enhance dialogue, focus on cooperation and manage disputes, make bilateral ties healthy and stable, and work with the rest of the world to jointly advance world peace and development.
Both history and presence prove that a peaceful and harmonious bilateral relationship between these two countries will make both winners, while a confrontational one will make both losers. Cooperation is the best choice for them.
China’s policies toward the U.S. has always been clear and consistent. The country hopes that the new administration of the U.S. can listen to the will of the people, see China in a rational and objective manner, meet China halfway, and uphold the principle of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, so as to bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track as soon as possible and better benefit the two peoples and the people in the rest of the world.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
