U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said recently that countries around the world want to be allies of the U.S. It is not that the whole world wants to be an ally of the U.S., but that Pompeo wants to be the "leader of the alliance," in an attempt to intimidate countries, including "allies" to become marionettes who act according to his will.

For some time, the head of the U.S. diplomacy has traveled all over the world, sparing no effort to intimidate other countries to take sides and concoct the so-called “anti-China alliance” wherever he goes.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Front) speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In order to crush Huawei, a private Chinese technology company, Pompeo has gone to great lengths to travel around Europe, using both high pressure and rich profits to reach his goal, playing "intimidation and inducement" to the extreme. As the Washington Post recently said, Pompeo did not hesitate to manipulate the U.S. foreign policy in order to realize his political ambitions.

As a result, today's U.S. diplomacy has been reduced to "coercive diplomacy,” making a mess around the globe.

In Europe, the U.S. has repeatedly pressed its European allies to increase their military spending by threatening to withdraw a large number of American troops, leading German and French leaders to openly question the "ally" status of the U.S.

In order to pressure the EU to make concessions, the U.S. has been escalating the trade war with Europe, levying tariffs on European wine imports and putting destructive tariffs on European cars, all of which are aimed at the economic lifeline of Europe.

In the Middle East, the U.S. blatantly asked the United Nations Security Council to extend the arms embargo against Iran, despite the fact that the country itself had already withdrawn from the Iranian nuclear agreement.

After the attempt was voted down by a large majority, the U.S. has been slapped in the face by the UN and the international community for announcing without authorization "the restoration of United Nations sanctions on Iran.”

The U.S. has also extended its reach to Latin America. From September 18 to 20, Pompeo made a whirlwind visit to Venezuela's four neighbors, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Colombia, lobbying the countries to work together with the U.S. in taking a tougher stance against Venezuela.

Pompeo's words and deeds immediately drew strong opposition from several Brazilian dignitaries.

This kind of "coercive diplomacy" combined with "sanctions diplomacy" and "deceitful diplomacy” constitutes the American "extreme hegemonic diplomacy" represented by Pompeo. These politicians insist on long-term and cruel sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and other developing countries, making these countries even worse during the pandemic.

With the international community strongly urging the U.S. to lift sanctions in order to fight the pandemic and save lives, Pompeo and American politicians with similar views, who are often endorsed as the "guardians of human rights," continued to exert pressure and use the pandemic to kill people.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Pompeo and American politicians with similar views regard the UN Charter as nothing and the UN podium as their private place, repeatedly intimidating many member states, with President Donald Trump even making a seven-minute speech deemed a “nonsense” farce at the 75th anniversary conference of the UN.

In the United Nations, the U.S. only wants privileges but has failed to fulfill its obligations, defaulting on its debts for a long time, and shirking its peacekeeping responsibilities, placing financial strain on the UN.

In order to cover up the responsibility for letting the epidemic get out of control, Pompeo and American politicians with similar views have not only discredited China, but have also repeatedly created difficulties for the World Health Organization. They cut off supplies and withdrew from the group efforts at a critical moment in the global fight against the pandemic, seriously threatening global public health security.

The justice and rules of the international community do not want to be threatened by the "fist" of the U.S. On September 11, the 74th session of the UN General Assembly adopted a comprehensive resolution on COVID-19’s pandemic situation by 169 votes, overwhelming the U.S., which had only one supporter.

The U.S. sought to restart the "rapid resumption of sanctions" mechanism against Iran, which was opposed by 13 out of the 15 members of the UN Security Council. Recently, nearly 50 scholars from Harvard University and other American universities issued a joint statement saying that U.S. foreign policy is close to failure, causing instability, insecurity and human suffering.

The "coercive diplomacy" pursued by Pompeo and American politicians with similar views runs counter to the world trend of peace, equality, dialogue and cooperation, causing the most serious damage to the U.S. diplomacy in decades.

The U.S., which is pursuing coercion, sanctions and bullying all over the world, has become a destroyer of world peace, a spoiler of the international order, and an enemy of human civilization.

What makes U.S. politicians who engage in "coercive diplomacy" different from bullies?  

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