The People’s Daily launched a new series of Zhong Sheng articles on the US-China trade war focusing on “clearly seeing the true colours of US politicians.”

The first article (June 4) accused some US politicians of forgetting the insights of Adam Smith and using “Washington’s ‘hegemonic hands’ to restrict the market’s ‘invisible hand.’” It asserted that past generations of Americans would be disappointed in the US today as “national policy is being driven by zero-sum, antagonistic thinking, the foundation for participating in the global industrial division of labor has vanished, and the US is no longer the defender of the global order.”

 The second article (June 5) accused some US politicians of hypocrisy for claiming to “seek a relationship grounded in fairness, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty” while “readily brandishing the big stick of tariffs.” It argued that the reason for this is that “the US cannot stand to see others also do well” and US politicians hope that the country will always be able to “sit idle and enjoy the fruits of others’ work.” Such ideas, it warned, are a “public hazard” that “are doomed to meet much resistance and disdain.”  

 The third article (June 6) accused some US politicians of believing “they can delineate the borders of science and exclusively enjoy the fruits of innovation.” It added that “by unscrupulous launching a ‘scientific and technological Cold War’ and erecting a ‘digital Iron Curtain,’ some American politicians’ true colours of inconsistency, contradiction, and hypocrisy have been laid bare” before lamenting these actions not only “shut [the US’] own door but also block everyone’s road. The injured, after all, are all countries in the global supply chain.”

 The fourth article (June 7) accused some US politicians of “engaging in free trade in name and carrying out trade protectionism in reality.” After declaring that “what is most important is not what is said but what is done,” it asserted that “the so-called free trade of the US today is nothing more than a unilateral game futilely attempting to continue exploiting the multilateral trade system, insinuating itself into other countries’ confidence, and realizing selfish interests.”