There is an old saying in China that “a wise man can be ruined by his own wisdom.” This proverb is perfect to describe some politicians in the US who think they are always right and clever.

In the early days of the trade war, some US politicians claimed that “trade wars are good and easy to win,” and believed that they could force others into making concessions through exerting extreme pressure.

The US politicians took backtracking as the “art of trade”, and abused state power to smear and suppress foreign enterprises. They also made up the accusation against China of stealing intellectual property rights and renewed the controversial "clash of civilizations" idea.

The world has seen through the tricks some American politicians have played. The so-called “victory” over trade war is self-deception and creates negative impact for the world.

The US politicians have set a bad example to the world by making people become more aware of the stubbornness of Washington, more determined to focus on their own affairs and more motivated to create a better future with strong willpower and growing strength.

Washington’s self-righteousness is nothing more than an attempt to gain more benefits through playing tricks. However, it has neglected the fact that the trade war it provoked with the world could backfire itself.

Research from the International Monetary Fund reveals that US importers “almost entirely” bear the cost of tariffs, which are then passed on to the consumers.

Washington’s assault on Huawei has led to a blow that battered US technology shares. The stocks of multiple American firms fell sharply as a consequence of “the cold war in technology” argument hyped up by some US politicians.

Some narrow-minded US politicians honor hegemony rather than rules, and worship interests instead of ideals, believing that coerce and exert extreme pressure on China will come to a “good end” for them.

The US government frequently adopts national security reviews in the trade battlefields worldwide, said Bloomberg, pointing out that this practice will lead to a bad precedent and the US will inevitably hurt itself.

This is indeed the case. The US has repeatedly challenged the current multilateral international order and become the biggest destroyer and the most unstable factor in the current international system.

People of insight from all over the world have appealed for justice, sternly criticizing Washington for a series of conducts that go against the trend of the time. The arrogant and unconstrained hegemonic behaviors of the US earn little support and will only be answered with stronger counter-measures.

American mathematician John Tukey said that if everyone wants to maximize their own interests, they will end up with a lose-lose situation. What lies behind Washington’s self-righteousness is nothing but zero-sum game mentality.

However, the US has underestimated the ability and determination of other countries to protect their core interests.

A number of countries have taken counter-measures against the US for provoking trade disputes and prosecuted the latter at the World Trade Organization. The US has miscalculated thinking that it could intimidate China by imposing tariffs on Chinese products worth hundreds of billions of US dollars.

In a world where countries are interdependent on each other, it is extremely stupid for the US to believe that a trade war is “easy to win” and its opponents are “easy to lose”.

Washington has underestimated the wisdom, strategies and willpower of its opponents, which will only lead to the escalation of chaos and crises, said the German newspaper Der Spiegel.

History has told us that true wisdom comes from win-win cooperation, and there is no future for self-righteousness and a beggar-thy-neighbor approach.

When the interests of all countries are closely intertwined and the fate is closely related, cooperation is much needed for mankind to cope with risks and challenges, Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University, said in his book A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism.

The US government, which acts willfully by adopting the “America First” strategy, and intentionally sabotaging international rules, has exposed its obsession with American exceptionalism.

Such toxic concept and practices are not only harmful to the US, but also very dangerous to the world.

Cooperation leads to win-win results while confrontation leads to lose-lose situations. For China and the US, cooperation is the only right choice. If the politicians of the US cannot see the historical trend and remain addicted to self-righteousness, their tricks such as provoking confrontations, intimidating and pressuring, and escalating conflicts, will lead nowhere.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name used by People's Daily to express views on foreign policy.)