Some US politicians' China obsession a confession of their own misdemeanors

In his address at the TechNet Augusta conference last week, US National Security Agency Deputy Director Tim Kosiba tried to falsely portray China as a global "spoiler" and "disruptor" actively seeking to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies in almost every sphere across domains and environments — from the South China Sea to Greenland, from the Middle East to Latin America. "We must push back collectively by using all the levers of power smartly and strategically," he said.

His remarks, a manifestation of a Cold War mentality, reveal the deterioration in US strategic thinking. To claim China's presence is "adversarial" to the US and its allies in "nearly every engagement" and wherever the US seeks to defend itself and its allies is not an analytical assessment of reality. Rather, it is a reflection of the US' increasing unease about its capabilities to exercise hegemony in a multipolar world.

Baselessly labeling China as a "spoiler" confuses diplomatic engagement with hostility. China's extensive economic partnerships across the world are normal and beneficial to the international community. The country's footprint is characterized by trade, infrastructure development and dialogue, rather than the US style of military expansion or regime-change operations. Yet Kosiba interprets these as "adversarial", treating the entire world as the US' own exclusive domain.

Kosiba attempted to cast China's presence in Greenland and Antarctica as a "military threat". This groundless claim inadvertently exposes Washington's own intent to militarize these regions, where China's activities are transparent, scientific and cooperative. It is the US government that has defied international norms by repeatedly trying to assert control over Greenland, which is a sovereign territory of Denmark.

China has been a consistent defender of the international order and contributor to global peace and development. In its bilateral cooperation with other countries, China does not target third parties.

Kosiba's claim that Chinese companies are "passing intelligence to Iran" and "undermining" US operations is unfounded and intended to create a pretext for the US to use long-arm jurisdiction and impose unilateral and unlawful sanctions on Chinese entities.

The historical record shows that the US has frequently played the role of spoiler and disruptor in various regions — invading sovereign nations, meddling in domestic politics, and cultivating proxies to foment bloc confrontation, all while invoking the self-serving justifications of "human rights", "freedom" and "democracy" to lend "moral cover" to strategic overreach.

As a major country pursuing peaceful development, China's rise confounds some in the US. In response, they have repeatedly sought to provoke tensions or project the US' own behaviors onto China, levying unfounded accusations. Yet the more aggressively these US politicians make such absurd claims, the more they reveal their palpable anxiety in the face of a changing world.

Kosiba's call for "collective pushback" is actually a demand for allies to sacrifice their own interests and pick sides to alleviate Washington's anxiety. By falsely framing China as a "foe", these China-bashing politicians in the US are seeking to steer the world toward a new Cold War.

The US should follow the trend of the times, abandon its outdated zero-sum mindset and view China's development with a rational and pragmatic attitude. Resolving differences through equal dialogue serves the interests of both sides. The US is only shooting itself in the foot by continuing to perpetuate confrontation and spreading falsehoods that erode the international order.