The United States’ blacklisting of 11 officials in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland is part of a never-ending attack against China, as US President Donald Trump’s administration pursues at least two or three anti-China measures per week. 

The administration of course had threatened these sanctions following the announcement in May that Beijing would draft a National Security Law for Hong Kong; and they weren’t to be the last, considering the “Hong Kong Autonomy Act”, which mandates further measures. On Wednesday, the US suspended its extradition agreement with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as two other longstanding arrangements.

It is quite obvious that the White House has no respect for international norms, conventions or the basic principles of diplomacy. The path toward destroying relations between two countries for the pursuit of opportunistic, short-term electoral gain is ultimately unwise, destabilizing, and plunges the world into deeper uncertainty, which in the long term will have many implications for America itself

What is going on here? Why is the US administration pushing to destroy every aspect of the relationship with China at such an aggressive pace? And any thought for the consequences?

The flood of impulsive measures might be described as a “scorched earth” policy — that is the premise that on facing potential defeat (in this case potential electoral defeat), the retreating party seeks to destroy as much as possible in order to spite its adversary.

The Trump administration fears it will lose in November, and as a result is taking a sledgehammer to the US-China relationship in order to forcibly change the paradigm so drastically that its legacy will be cemented, unreversible by succeeding administrations. In doing so, it is seeking to solidify a permanent assault against Beijing on every front.

One can never say never, but the odds are currently stacked against Trump. His use of anti-China measures in order to facilitate public distractions from bad employment and GDP figures, as well as the country’s horrendous handling of COVID-19, speaks volumes about his insecurities.

This was never what he initially planned, but having lost the economy, the only ammunition the president seems to have left is the venting of nationalist outrage against China, a tool proved valid four years ago. This has paved the way for the most fanatical China hawks in the administration to utilize their deepest desires, to use the tidal wave of Sinophobia to drastically change the paradigm of relations between the two countries and destroy things as much as possible. They are attempting to set a paradigm for the future, in which successors are forced to follow, thus creating a permanent state of confrontation between the US and China.

The most telling evidence of this is the way anti-China measures are being “front-loaded”, that is as many as possible, in as short a period of time as possible. The measures are unilateralist in nature and tend to have no respect for the interests of other countries, which has been a core component of the Trump administration’s diplomacy in coercing others to follow its agenda on China.

These measures combine with the extremist fanatical rhetoric being espoused by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the subsequent speeches, both at home and abroad, which have sought to publicly set the agenda in this direction. It might be described as a hasty push toward a Cold War. It is, to put it lightly, unhinged, and even if electorally beneficial, lacks any kind of constraint, reason or nuance.

The latest sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese mainland officials, at this pace, will be far from the last. The timing of the move was a clear reaction to the delaying of the city’s Legislative Council election due to COVID-19.

The new measures will not affect or change Beijing’s position concerning the city, with Beijing making it clear that China’s national sovereignty is non-negotiable, and will see the latest moves as an attempt to undermine such. It has nothing to lose on this measure.

However, it may pose some future disruptions. The “Hong Kong Autonomy Act” recently passed by the US mandates that the US government penalize financial institutions that do business with sanctioned individuals. While this would have extreme implications for global financial markets, it is not clear how far the US administration will push this, given it has still been cautious on the financial aspect of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, it becomes imperative for China to begin diversifying away from US dollar reliance, as well as US bank payment systems such as SWIFT.

This is a concerning time. The Trump administration’s aggressive behavior is seeking to force the world into a Cold War scenario and slice it into blocs. It stems from a fear of a loss which seems not inevitable, but likely. There seems to be nothing off-limits on what it is now willing to sanction and blacklist.

In summary, it is quite obvious that the White House has no respect for international norms, conventions or the basic principles of diplomacy. The path toward destroying relations between two countries for the pursuit of opportunistic, short-term electoral gain is ultimately unwise, destabilizing, and plunges the world into deeper uncertainty, which in the long term will have many implications for America itself. 

The author is a British political and international relations analyst. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.