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The outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump has reduced the validity period of US visitor visas for Communist Party of China (CPC) officials and their family members from 10 years to one month.

The Trump administration appears to be indulging in increasingly irrational measures, and the latest anti-China move points to a new low in morality. It not only shows the US leadership’s isolationist and boastful nature, but also reflects racist issues in US foreign policy and a favoring of confrontation over reconciliation. 

To begin with, those in power in the US lack the candid attitude to truly understand the CPC. Their claims that the CPC “does not represent the Chinese people” and that “China is overthrowing international order” are completely false. 

The legality of the CPC’s rule is not only based on its role in leading the country toward independence and prosperity, but also on the way that it is creating welfare for most of the Chinese people. The Chinese people’s support for the CPC is both stable and firm. 

The CPC does not force other countries to accept the China model, contrary to the assertion that “China is overthrowing international order.” Instead, it is improving its own governance while helping other countries to find their own suitable path. 

The US leadership has been trying to demonize the CPC and break the understanding and support of other countries toward the CPC, creating an opinion that the CPC is illegitimate.

The effort to pressure other countries to lash out at another country and its ruling party is indeed very American style. But against a backdrop of diversity and globalization, the denunciation of the CPC by this group of white supremacists will only hurt themselves and will prove to be futile.

Second, the current US administration has no sincere will to understand China. In the vast and populous China, stability is vital for security and development. Thousands of years of history and political culture prove the necessity of a powerful central government. For over 70 years, this has been achieved through the CPC. 

The policy elites in the US stubbornly try to differentiate the CPC from the people, the ultimate purpose of which is to wreck the authority of the CPC and sow chaos, followed by the decline of China’s national strength and influence. Their hysteria and superficial understanding of China means their China policy is doomed to fail.

Third, the current US rulers have failed to grasp the trend of the times. They are still stuck in an old-fashioned mind-set, believing that countries with different political systems will inevitably fall into confrontation and that the shift of world power will inevitably lead to conflicts or even wars.

They view the CPC-led China the way they looked at the autocratic monarchies in the European continent in the first half of the 19th century and Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union in the 20th century, thinking they are the side that has the high ground of morality and justice. 

Times have changed, and so should mind-sets and actions. The US administration and some policy elites apparently fail to understand the CPC from the perspective of development, and are unable to put themselves in China’s shoes. The opening-up policies that the CPC adheres to follow the trend of globalization, which has allowed for compatibility and mutual benefit for China and other countries in the world. 

The trade protectionism and anti-globalization policies that the current US government has adopted have brought uncertainties for the world.

This is in sharp contrast to the regional and global win-win situation brought by the CPC’s multilateralism and economic globalization policies. The contrasting performance of China and the US in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic also shows that the times are favoring China, rather than the US.   

It should be pointed out that there are about 92 million CPC members. If their relatives are included, it will be a huge group involving at least 300 million people. If the US government really puts these visa restrictions into practice, it will be a waste of resources as absurd as the wall on US-Mexico border and will be another joke. The top priority for the US should be fighting the pandemic and rebuilding the economy as soon as possible, rather than creating confrontation with China.     

The US administration has lost the ability to judge what the country’s key interests are. Their China policy has been driven by a psychological imbalance and has shown a rare dangerous tendency of anti-humanity and extremism.

The US’ China policy has come to a critical crossroads. Hopefully the incoming US administration will be able to view itself, China and the world in a more rational and peaceful manner, and will meet China halfway and work together to promote a stable and prosperous international order.  

The author is a professor with the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn