Washington's 'threat inflation' continues to rise: China Daily editorial

　　The Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the US, Dec 4, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Speaking in London on July 6 alongside MI5's Director General Ken McCallum, FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed that China is "the biggest threat" to the national and economic security of the United States and countries that share its "values".

At a gathering of business leaders, he alleged that Beijing is "set on stealing your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry tick, and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market". On the same day, US intelligence agencies sent a so-called anti-spying warning against China to government officials and business leaders.

US officials have made many such claims alleging that China is up to no good, always implying that the US has higher moral standards and would never stoop to such practices. But, as in this instance, the charges always stick to the US rather than China.

It is the US that has repeatedly been found to be using covert means to gain a competitive edge for its businesses and used dirty tricks to knobble the companies of other countries in key industries.

This time, it was the US spy chief and his British colleague playing the pin-the-threat-on-China game, in a bid to curb Western businesses' cooperation with China.

By politicizing trade and technological issues in this way, the US is trying to upset the global industry and supply chains so that it can reshape them to its liking.

Even the top executives of US companies have protested against their country's habit of provoking trouble and warned about the damage it does to their businesses.

In his talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bali, Indonesia, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out that the US' "threat inflation" is a symptom of its growing China-phobia.

The zero-sum games that the US plays by unscrupulous means do a disservice to both countries and the world. The record shows that it is the US' fabrication of China-related lies and efforts at decoupling and the breaking of the global industry and supply chains that are the "real threat" to the United States and its allies.

The US should end its coercive and unfair economic practices and uphold the fair competition that it claims to champion. It could start by removing the additional tariffs imposed on Chinese imports as quickly as possible and lifting the unilateral sanctions it has imposed on Chinese businesses.