Smear campaign against China won't make US great again

Senior US officials like to talk about reciprocity in relations with China. But one thing that China will not and cannot reciprocate is sending its officials around the world to defame another country. Which is exactly what US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did in Chile on April 12 when he slandered Beijing, and tried to drive a wedge between Latin American countries and China.

Such a despicable act is nothing new. US Vice-President Mike Pence indulged in the same game when he toured Central America in October. And National Security Advisor John Bolton exhibited the same trait when he rolled out Washington's Africa strategy in December.

Pence and Pompeo also threatened the US' European allies in February with possible US action if they included Huawei in their 5G networks. Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, too, slandered China while visiting Africa and Latin America as secretary of state.