Values of US diplomacy called into question: China Daily editorial

Since it took office, the Joe Biden administration has implemented so-called "value diplomacy" that is materialized in it classifying countries in light of their political systems as well as their attitudes toward its hegemony.

Those sharing its "values" or those willing to sacrifice their autonomy for it are invited to form cliques with it.

Therefore, all the countries that it invites to attend the summits it convokes are expected to accept certain US propositions.

This actually creates more trouble for those countries that are invited to attend the summits than those that are not since the summits and whatnots are invariably intended to isolate those countries that Washington has labeled as human rights violators, non-democratic or authoritarian. No matter what ties those countries may have with those that are invited.

That's why some major countries in Latin America have refused to accept the US' invitation to participate in the Ninth Summit of the Americas that it is hosting in Los Angeles, California, on June 6-10.

Although the summit has the theme of "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future in the Western Hemisphere", Washington's propensity for labeling countries friends or foes, depending on whether they pay lip service to its values or not, means the participation of some invited leaders is still in doubt.

Earlier this month, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that his participation will not be confirmed until the US invites every country in the hemisphere, arguing that no country should be excluded from the summit. US officials have repeatedly said the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will not be invited to the summit due to their human rights records.

Such an embarrassing state of affairs for the US over an Americas summit is rare since former US president Bill Clinton convened the first Summit of the Americas in Miami, Florida, in 1994.

No wonder the Joe Biden administration has been trying to persuade the Mexican president to participate in the event, and to convince Argentina, Chile and Honduras to not oppose the meeting.

The US can measure other countries with its own yardstick, but it cannot and shouldn't force other countries to accept its measurement.

If the Biden administration sends a second batch of invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to ensure the summit can be held as scheduled, that will only be further evidence of the US administration's humiliation.