Kevin McCarthy (File photo from BBC)
The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on January 10, local time, to form the China Select Committee in response to the so-called multi-faceted threats posed by Beijing. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded on January 11 that “we hope the relevant US politicians view China and the China-US relations in an objective and reasonable light, proceed from the US’s own interests and the common interests of China and the US, head toward the same direction with China, and promote the development of the China-US relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation”.
当地时间1月10日，美国会众议院通过决议成立“中国特设委员会”，以应对中国对美国构成的所谓“多方面威胁”。1月11日，中国外交部发言人汪文斌回应称，希望美方有关人士客观理性看待中国和中美关系，从美国自身利益和中美共同利益出发，同中方相向而行，推动发展相互尊重、和平共处、合作共赢的中美关系。
The second resolution adopted by the 118th House of Representatives of the US Congress was starkly targeted at China – the elements of a political show cannot be more conspicuous. As a house speaker who has only been elected – after a manner – after 15 rounds of voting through four days, McCarthy’s eagerness to take a tough line against China was to show that he was honoring what he promised before the midterm election and to appease the most radical and extreme Republicans who have been against his election. The political stagecraft is just too obvious.
第118届美国国会众议院正式开议后通过的第二项决议便赤裸裸地针对中国,其中的政治表演成分实在太过明显。对一个用了4天时间、经历了15轮投票才勉强当选的众议长来说，麦卡锡第一时间展现强硬对华立场，无非是要表现他“兑现”了在中期选举前许下的“承诺”，也是为了安抚共和党内那些一直反对他出任议长的最极端、最激进的议员,其中的政治表演成分实在太过明显。
The resolution to form a select committee on China was cleared at the lower house with a sweeping majority. In a country of extreme political polarization and intense inter-party opposition, the Democrats and the Republicans’ only common ground falls on the China issue is full proof of how desperately anxious the political circle in Washington feels about China. This “unity” between the two parties may very well push the China-US relationship to a more dangerous situation.
成立该委员会的决议在众议院以压倒性的优势获得通过。在政治极化、两党高度对立的美国，两党竟然只能在对华议题上找到“共识”，足见当下弥漫在华盛顿政治圈的对华焦虑是多么严重。两党政客的这种合流很可能将中美关系推向更危险的激流险滩。
Consistently jeopardizing the China-US relationship will backfire on the US itself. So far the tariff war started by the US government has caused its agriculture, retail sales, manufacturing, businesses and consumers more than US$134 billion of losses. A report released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in October 2022 showed that the tariff war has harmed American manufacturing, employment and export and to some extent crippled American companies’ competitiveness both at home and in the international market. In his article titled “On China, Congress Is Its Own Worst Enemy”, Bloomberg’s columnist Mihir Sharma said the American walls have cost US businesses billions. While the whole world has recognized the importance of globalization for improving their competitiveness and boosting their prosperity, too many American politicians have unfortunately forgotten that.
持续破坏中美关系的行为，最终也会令美国自身受伤。迄今为止，美国政府发动的关税大战已经给美国农业、零售业、制造业、商业及消费者造成了超1340亿美元损失。彼得森国际经济研究所2022年10月发布的报告指出，关税损害了美国的制造业产业、就业和出口，也在一定程度上损害了美国公司在美国和国际市场上的竞争力。在题为《在中国问题上，国会是自己最大敌人》的文章中，彭博社专栏作家米希尔·夏马尔表示，美国（对中国）筑起高墙，导致本国企业损失数十亿美元。世界各国都认识到全球化对提高各国竞争力和繁荣至关重要。不幸的是，美国政界太多人忘记了这一点。
The anti-China stunt pulled by American politicians is against the historical trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation. The dilemma facing the China-US relationship today should be fully attributed to the “Cold War mentality” that American politicians find it so hard to let go. It’s high time that Uncle Sam, still indulged in major country confrontations and the fantasy of a “Cold War winner”, woke up to the new reality.
美国政客的拙劣反华表演违背和平、发展、合作、共赢的历史潮流。中美关系今天出现的种种困局，与美国政客始终难以摒弃“冷战思维”密切相关，始终沉溺于大国对抗和“冷战胜利者”幻象中的美国，该醒醒了。
Editor's note: Originally published on opinion.haiwainet.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
