NAIROBI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The visit to Taiwan by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Washington's so-called sanctions against Chinese officials are an affront against China that flouts basic norms of international relations, a Kenyan analyst has said.
Despite decades of productive relations, Washington appears keen on upsetting Beijing, which can only leave the two countries worse off, Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations researcher, told Xinhua in an interview.
"Both the United States and China should learn from the perilous history of great power politics and fashion a new form of big power relations that can prop and sustain global stability and wellbeing. Instead of erecting walls, established powers like the United States should be more open to the ideas of new actors including multinational corporations," said Adhere.
China on Monday announced sanctions against 11 U.S. officials with egregious records on Hong Kong affairs.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the announcement in response to a request for comment on the so-called U.S. sanctions against 11 officials of the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.
Adhere noted that no single country can forestall or inhibit the development of other states, therefore, every country should emphasize the need for cooperation while respecting other countries.
China has become an engine in global economic growth, Adhere said, noting "Beijing has operationalized homegrown solutions, providing wide-ranging public goods and lifting hundreds of millions of poverty."
Instead of harboring increased hostility, "the United States should capitalize on China's potential and jointly work together and help humanity confront the most pressing challenges, including the COVID-19. Fervently opposing China is a non-strategic foreign policy anchor and risks denying Americans and the rest of the world desirable results of strategic cooperation in various fields," he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic, according to Adhere, has made it clear that humanity is a community with a shared future.
"The Trump administration should abandon the high horse of American exceptionalism and embrace progressive frameworks of international relations that place a premium on respect for other countries," cooperation and responsibilities, Adhere said. Enditem
