Heeding criticism not only a virtue but also shrewd

Editor's note: The United States administration blinded by its "America first" ideology, has wielded its tariff stick against other countries, regardless of the strong opposition both at home and abroad. Zhong Sheng, a columnist for People's Daily, comments:

Claiming its country's trade deficits are caused by economic theft, the US administration has repeatedly sparked trade disputes with other countries. It claims that the technological development of other countries will hurt the US, and thus it has mobilized state power to suppress foreign enterprises, and even forced US allies to join its offensive. It also claims that the international trade rules "hurt" the US' interests and thus it is trying to smash the multilateral trading system. These unreasonable and willful acts not only suppress the legitimate development rights of other countries, but also trample on international rules.

The world today is one with ever-deepening economic globalization and multi-polarization, and one in which the interests and fates of all countries are increasingly intertwined. The fundamental reason why the US administration ignores the trend of history is that it wants to be able to make the rules at will. With such a mindset, making America great again has become an excuse to put the US' interests above those of other countries.