US unilateral economic coercion hegemonic: China Daily editorial

In an attempt to tighten the noose on Iran's economic lifeline, the United States administration launched "Operation Economic Outcast: Total Isolation of the Iranian Regime", seeking to sever the country's financial connections around the world. Yet one of the grave consequences of this aggressive restrictive measure is the collateral damage it inflicts on the global economy. By weaponizing the US financial prowess and targeting any entity that allegedly does business with "blacklisted" Iranian companies, the US seems ready to turn a regional conflict it started, along with Israel, into a global economic disruption and a potentially existential threat to the very "rules-based" order it claims to uphold.

Kameng Trading Ltd, a Hong Kong-registered company, has become the latest Chinese victim of the US administration's escalating enforcement drive, after the US Treasury Department announced on Friday it would sanction the company over alleged "money-laundering" ties to an Iranian institution — claims that, as ever with such US allegations, have not been substantiated. The move comes only days after the US imposed a fresh round of Iran-related sanctions against multiple Chinese entities. The US administration has also hinted at possible sanctions against major Chinese financial institutions over their alleged "links" to Iran.

The reckless moves by the US constitute a flagrant abuse of extraterritorial jurisdiction, and are in blatant violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations. These measures not only threaten to disrupt global energy markets and exacerbate inflation, but also hurt countries that are not party to the US-Iran conflict. The punishment the US metes out against third parties is about the US leveraging its control over the global financial system to force other countries into doing what it wants.

The Chinese government has expressed firm opposition to these unilateral and unlawful sanctions, and has made it clear that it will take all necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese entities.

Over six months after the US and Israel launched "Epic Fury" against Iran, the promised "quick victory" has failed to arrive. Not a single preset goal — regime change or the dismantling of Iran's nuclear and missile programs, has been met. The White House's prediction that the war would last only "four to six weeks" now stands as proof of strategic miscalculation, shattered by a protracted stalemate that has exposed the limits of the US' military reach. Faced with this impasse and confronted with mounting domestic discontent, the US administration has reverted to its old standby of maximum economic pressure. Yet this coercive approach will likely meet the same dead end as the military campaign that preceded it.

Iran has already endured US sanctions for decades, and not been brought to its knees under external pressure. If anything, each new round of restrictions only reinforces its "defiance". Washington's calculus — that squeezing the Iranian people with sanctions will spark a popular uprising — comes at a high cost. The immediate result will be deeper suffering for the Iranian people, and along with that, more resentment toward the US.

To coerce other countries into unquestioningly following the US' lead, the US administration is threatening to cut off disobeying nations from the dollar system, a move that will only accelerate the global push for de-dollarization.

History shows that the more the US imposes unilateral sanctions, the more likely it is to incentivize the rest of the world to build work-arounds, such as creating alternative payment systems, developing parallel financial infrastructure, or conducting trade in currencies other than the dollar. The US is therefore hastening the de-dollarization of the global economy with its economic attack on Iran, undermining the very foundation of its own financial hegemony.

The US cannot bomb or sanction Iran to shape it to its liking. A true resolution to the hostilities demands a strategic pivot from coercion to diplomacy. Dialogue, not isolation, offers the only viable path to resolve the conflict. Military options breed endless cycles of retaliation; and sanctions punish civilians and harm the world economy. Negotiation is the harder choice, yet it is the means to deliver peace and avert another cycle of conflict.