By Zhong Sheng
Some U.S. politicians, demanding others to keep promises while constantly backtracking themselves, are revealing their double-dealer essence to the world.
They orally worship the so-called spirit of contract, but have no idea that their arrogant and bossy practices are actually against it. While they are setting traps for other countries, they are also exposing their true intentions that have long been in disguise.
It is a usual practice of the U.S. to blame others for the lack of contract spirit and demand them to abide by contracts.
Last year, the U.S. issued multiple reports to accuse China of non-compliance with WTO rules, which was used as an excuse to take unilateral trade measures against China. Last month, it claimed that it had already reached an agreement with China, but the agreement was broken by the latter.
However, facts don’t lie.
In a white paper titled “China and the World Trade Organization” released by China in June 2018, China set the record straight with undeniable facts, which prove to the world that the country has earnestly fulfilled its WTO commitments.
And by another white paper published recently titled “China’s Position on the Economic and Trade Consultations”, China uncovered the truth, saying that China-US consultations have not been free of setbacks, each of them being the result of a US breach of consensus and commitments, and backtracking.
WTO rules, which are agreements reached based on the common consensus of each party concerned, should be strictly abided by. However, the U.S., by arbitrarily placing its domestic law above WTO rules, have unilaterally provoked trade disputes with other countries and trampled on the multilateral trading system.
As a member of the WTO, the U.S. has made public statement that “we will not allow the WTO Appellate Body and dispute settlement system to force the United States into a straitjacket of obligations to which we never agreed” and even threatened to withdraw from the organization.
Can anyone see the spirit of contract in such bald-faced threat?
As proven by facts, the U.S. has been the largest troublemaker for the international law and rules.
The U.S. exited the Paris Agreement on climate change which was signed by more than 190 countries and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) endorsed and approved by the UN Security Council. It has also quit international organizations including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and UN Human Rights Council.
The true face of the US using whatever that suits its interests and abandoning whatever that does not has been well exposed.
Rule consciousness and the spirit of contract are the bedrock of market economy as well as important pillars of the modern international order. Following rules and abiding by contracts enable individuals, groups, and countries to carry out wide cooperation, which represents an important feature of mankind’s entry into a civilized society.
By wantonly withdrawing from agreements and trampling on international rules, the U.S. is actually damaging its own credibility while sabotaging international order.
The international community believes that it’s hardly possible for the U.S. to win the trust of other trade partners that it is under negotiation with, as the country has reneged on its own promises during the bilateral trade talks with China.
The spirit of contract that is frequently advertised by U.S. politicians is used by them as merely a weapon in disguise to attack others.
In order to gain private interests of their own country, these U.S. politicians have abandoned justice without scruple. Sometimes they don’t even bother to find an excuse.
Not long ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shouted shamelessly that “we lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”
It seems that in the mind of these U.S. politicians, profits are what they truly value and there’s no room for contract spirit.
A year ago, in response to the U.S. side’s unreasonable actions that undermined the international order, European Council President Donald Tusk posted a statement on Twitter that looking at latest decisions of the US, someone could even think: with friends like that who needs enemies.
Every person and every country that has no virtue and acts in disregard of the spirit of contract will taste the bitterness of isolation sooner or later.
Source: People’s Daily
