Commentary: Washington's exploiting claims of "national security" threatens global prosperity

People visit the Huawei booth during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Probing Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), replacing China-made cranes at U.S. ports, slamming China's 5G devices ... U.S. politicians view anything impeding U.S. hegemony as a potential threat to U.S. national security.

Time and again, U.S. politicians have used protectionism as a national security concern. The story is an old one by now. Sadly, they fail to realize that such maneuvers only exacerbate global divisions, pushing the world further into fragmentation and confrontation.

Washington's fervent witch-hunt against China's tech companies, ostensibly under the banner of national security, lacks both evidence and technical justification. It is a baseless pretext employed to hinder China's technological progress.

The suppression of Huawei, China's top provider of 5G equipment, is a clear example of this. Washington has sanctioned Huawei under the pretense of national security and pressured other countries to block 5G devices from China.

However, there has never been a single cybersecurity incident involving Huawei products or a tapping or surveillance operation. A 2019 report by the German daily Der Tagesspiegel said that after years of review, the British government, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security and the European Commission failed to find any backdoor in Huawei.

Furthermore, the so-called security breaches of China-made cranes at U.S. ports are trumped evidence to suppress leading Chinese manufacturers.

The Baltimore port purchased four cranes from Chinese manufacturer ZPMC and hasn't found any issues while assembling and testing them, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing William Doyle, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.

Chinese electric vehicles are seen in Amman, Jordan, on Feb. 9, 2024. Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are swiftly gaining traction in Jordan's automotive market, propelled by their remarkable blend of high quality and affordability. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Echoing Doyle, Cary Davis, general counsel of the American Association of Port Authorities, said there have been no known security breaches from China-made cranes. "I like a good spy movie, but you need a smoking gun to make it a blockbuster, and there's no smoke in this story," he said.

Protectionist claims made under the pretext of national security do not fool the world. In fact, self-serving acts based on groundless accusations have sparked an international outcry.

A recent proposal by German politicians to restrict Huawei has triggered strong opposition from telecommunication operators. Industry insiders estimated that excluding Huawei equipment from Germany's existing communication network would result in billions of euros in additional costs and set back the development of German mobile communication technology for several years.

The European Commission's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs has also prompted dissatisfaction among many car manufacturers and consumers.

In fact, Chinese EVs have experienced significant growth in the European Union because of global companies in the Chinese market. A large portion of China's EV exports come from foreign-funded enterprises. The anti-subsidy probe will not only deprive European consumers of cheaper and better options but also affect the future development of these foreign companies.

U.S. politicians often rely on far-fetched claims to justify their protectionist tactics, sometimes resorting to ridicule.

"Imagine a world with 3 million Chinese vehicles on the roads of America, and Beijing can turn them off at the same time," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently claimed in a video clip that went viral online.

Following this illogical reasoning, should the rest of the world dread the possibility of Washington arbitrarily disabling iconic U.S. products like iPhones or Teslas? Should other nations adopt such protectionist stances, restricting technological exchange beyond their borders and jeopardizing today's global digital technology products and trade?

Protectionist measures disguised as national security concerns harm economic growth and technological advancement. Isolationism and protectionism do not foster prosperity; instead, progress can be achieved only through openness and cooperation.