杀破狼

From chips to sunflower seeds and dumplings, Washington's sanctions tear away its own fig-leaf_我的网站

A |     By Wang Gaofei, Wu Xinru     (ECNS) -- Do sunflower seeds and dumplings pose a "threat" to U.S. national security?    The question may sound absurd, but the latest additions to the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entity list have raised questions about the breadth of the U.S. trade restrictions on Chinese goods. 43 Chinese companies have been added to the list in a single day, bringing the total to 187. From advanced chips to food and everyday apparel, the overreaching "big stick" of U.S. sanctions has finally ripped away its own fig-leaf.    Is this move really driven by "human rights concerns" as the West claimed, or is it merely the result of political calculation by Washington's elites? What lies behind Washington's decision to escalate sanctions just one day after reaching a consensus?    Josef Gregory Mahoney, an American scholar and professor of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University, was recently invited to join News Lounge of China News Network where he unpacked the real intentions of U.S. sanctions.        Sunflower seeds and dumplings land on the list: The absurdity and futility behind overreaching sanctions     "This move is logically indefensible," Mahoney stated bluntly, "These consumer goods firms have absolutely no connection to the so-called 'forced labor' allegations. Claims are entirely fabricated and lack any factual basis."     He argued that the U.S.' true intention is clear -- using groundless excuses to suppress China's competitive ordinary industries, disrupt the stability of China's industrial and supply chains, and protect the market share of its own traditional industries at the expense of Chinese enterprises' legitimate rights.         When even sunflower seeds and dumplings are labeled as "threats," the veteran scholar of China-U.S. relations emphasized, it exposes the absurdity and desperation behind Washington's containment strategy.     Turning to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) itself, he was even more incisive: "In the context of international law, the UFLPA has no legitimate legal foundation. In fact, it violates basic WTO rules and international trade norms."    He also added that the enforcement criteria of UFLPA are fatally flawed, adopting an unfair, rebuttable presumption that treats all related entities as guilty without evidence. When the law arbitrarily expands restrictions without clear, consistent judgment, it reverses the fundamental legal principle of presumption of innocence.     To suppress China, Washington has disregarded legal principles and fallen into logical contradictions, going to extraordinary lengths to achieve its ends.    Mahoney stressed: "It is blatant economic coercion, which could bring far-reaching harm," including erecting unnecessary trade barriers, hindering the flow of bilateral goods, and disrupting global industrial chain arrangements. Washington will hardly be able to bear the bitter fruits of these spillover effects.    Backtracking the very next day: Political calculation trumps economic and trade consensus     Just one day before the sanctions were announced, senior Chinese and U.S. officials in charge of economic and trade affairs had just held a video call, during which both sides stated that they were ready to jointly push for stable and sound China-U.S. economic and trade ties. Yet Washington brandished the big stick of sanctions almost immediately after those remarks. According to Mahoney, the timing is a deliberate and calculated provocation.     "The U.S. uses engagement and escalation as two sides of the same policy. It aims to create unilateral leverage before the follow-up consultations, break the mutual trust just built and force China into unnecessary concessions, completely violating the consensus reached by both parties."    The so-called "human rights concerns" appear to be a plausible pretext by the U.S. Yet in Mahoney's eyes, the sanction escalation stems almost entirely from domestic U.S. political calculation.     As the midterm elections draw near, demonstrating toughness on China remains one of the few tactics to unite Washington's bitterly-divided political establishment. The U.S. Congress has consistently demanded more aggressive UFLPA enforcement, and expanding the entity list helps insulate the White House from criticism by China Hawks.    Mahoney sees through this ploy: "It says nothing more than a convenient political fig leaf."    But just how much of Washington's shame can this fig leaf possibly cover?        Mahoney pointed directly to long-unresolved domestic issues in the United States, including sweatshop labor, prison labor and the abuse of migrant labor. Abroad, Washington has resorted to the aggression against Venezuela, against Iran, and supporting the genocide in Gaza.     Plagued by deep-seated domestic ills and a dismal human rights record, Washington, though, has long posed as a self-appointed "world's policeman," but its actions only serve to expose its deep hypocrisy.    Mahoney warned that, faced with election-driven pressures, continued festering of domestic governance problems in the U.S. could push Washington toward increasingly radical foreign policy stances. This sanction move, which represents a betrayal of previous consensus, has further eroded the already fragile China-U.S. mutual trust and introduced considerable uncertainties for subsequent high-level consultations.      Truth long obscured: Heavy barriers hide the reality     Western public discourse has long been awash with various false narratives targeting China, Xinjiang in particular.    "One of the interesting things we know about the cotton industry in Xinjiang is that there's no 'forced labor,' period. One of the things that is sort of interesting is that anyone can go to Xinjiang. It welcomes all visitors." Mahoney iterated in the interview.    During his recent visit to Xinjiang, Mahoney not only witnessed firsthand the highly-mechanized cotton-harvesting operations, but also toured local factories that produce harvesting equipment.    Inside the production workshops, he saw working teams led by female engineers, and members included Uyghurs who were there as professionals. Everyone performed their respective duties, actively contributing ideas and energy to production with great enthusiasm. Nowhere did he see "forced labor" or "slave labor" decried in Western media narratives.     Only by experiencing it firsthand and verifying through on-the-ground investigation can one get a glimpse of the truth. Mahoney noted that foreign visitors traveling to Urumqi, Karamay, and Kashgar are consistently struck by the region's stability, public order, and the well-being of its people.    Not everyone can afford, unfortunately, to travel to China, as Mahoney introduced, especially many Americans who find their position eroding economically because of the very policies that the current administration is putting into place. "They're kind of trapped in economic decline."    Some anti-China forces have long engaged in blame-shifting, seeking to externalize domestic governance conflicts and divert public discontent through media narratives. Trapped within pre-set information echo chambers, ordinary citizens lack the means to verify the truth by traveling to China. Exposed over time to one-sided, misleading and even false reports, they readily develop deep-seated negative stereotypes about China.    Encouragingly, the current media landscape is quietly shifting.    Mahoney noticed that a level of criticality has sort of entered the discussion now, which is creating an opening for people to take a more balanced look at China.    In recent years, China has rolled out multiple visa-exemption policies, and the popularity of travelling to China continues to surge. In his view, this offers an excellent opportunity for people overseas to break free from false narratives and see a multifaceted, authentic China. At the end of the interview, Mahoney shared his observations on the future development of China-U.S. relations.     In his view, how relations unfold between these two major powers has implications well beyond the two nations but also the global order.     Mahoney explained how Europe, faced with persistently high risks of deindustrialization, is further impacted by the energy crisis amid regional conflicts stoked by the United States, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Iran-Israel conflict. A large volume of opportunities and investment therefore has flowed outward, forcing Europe to adopt trade-protectionist stances toward China, which brings complications to China's relationship with the EU. Mahoney said that a growing number of countries are seeing these developments. And they realize that if they want to avoid the boot heel of American hegemony, they have to find more constructive alternatives and the ability to advance according to their own agendas. "And these, in fact, are the alternatives that China is offering them."    He held that some significant headwinds would be raised for the short-term development of China-U.S. relations and they would become more complicated.     His position is that the United States is facing a relative decline and is being hollowed out from within by itself while still being engaged in imperial overreach globally. Increasingly, the world is building alternatives to that type of U.S. dominated model.     On the contrary, China is probably the country best-positioned in the world to weather those types of risks and to even moderate them to some extent. He believes the country will work through this.    "China has been a responsible major power that has committed itself to stability over conflict," said Mahoney.    "If the U.S. can wake up to that realization, while at the same time figure out a way to change its behavior and commitment to structural inequalities, then I think we might find the two countries being able to move together in a way that would better result in a shared future for humanity," he concluded.                    。    9月27日，市委副书记、市长王庆海会见来辽参加第五届中国辽宁国际投资贸易洽谈会并到抚访问的韩国金泉市市长金忠燮一行。

B | 双方就进一步扩大经贸合作、加强人文交流等进行深入交流。         　　王庆海对金忠燮一行表示欢迎，对即将启幕的“金泉市市民节”和“金泉市民体育大会”提前表示祝贺。他说，2022年，习近平主席会见尹锡悦总统时提出，愿同韩方一道维护、巩固、发展好中韩关系。今年4月，省委书记郝鹏率辽宁省经贸合作代表团访问韩国，巩固深化了辽宁与韩国友好合作基础。抚顺市与金泉市自2011年缔结友好城市以来，在经济贸易、农业技术、旅游观光、文化体育等领域交流频繁、成果丰硕。当前，抚顺市正深入贯彻习近平主席重要指示精神，积极参与东北海陆大通道和东北亚开放合作枢纽地建设，以高水平开放引领高质量发展。金泉市在韩国被称为“忠、孝、礼”的故乡，历史文化悠久，自然资源丰富，与抚顺市有较强的产业关联性和互补性。

C | 希望双方进一步密切往来、厚植友谊，不断加深在农业、物流、体育等领域的务实合作，实现互利共赢、共同发展。         　　金忠燮感谢抚顺市的热情接待，对抚顺市近年来经济社会发展取得的成绩给予高度评价。

D | 他说，金泉市与抚顺市缔结友好城市13年来，建立了深厚的友谊，双方在农业技术、农产品进出口贸易以及人文交流等方面广泛互动、紧密合作，取得了明显成效。希望以此次访问为契机，进一步扩大两市在农产品、新能源、交通物流、人文旅游、青少年交流等方面的友好交往，拓展合作空间，共享合作成果，携手推进两市友好关系迈上新台阶。         　　在抚期间，金忠燮一行还到辽宁三友农业生物科技集团、辽宁大自然仙灵芝生物科技有限公司、瑞尔赫满绣文化创意有限公司、抚顺新钢铁有限责任公司及抚顺矿业集团西露天矿等地开展考察访问。         　　副市长王进参加会见及相关活动。                   责任编辑：刘春阳。

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