US-style hegemony proves peril to the world

The United States' abuse of its hegemony in the political, military, economic, financial, technological and cultural fields must draw greater international attention to the peril it poses to world peace and stability and the well-being of all peoples.

The US has developed a hegemonic playbook to stage "color revolutions," instigate regional disputes, and even directly launch wars under the guise of promoting democracy, freedom and human rights.

Clinging to the Cold War mentality, it has ramped up bloc politics and stoked conflict and confrontation. It has overstretched the concept of national security, abused export controls and forced unilateral sanctions upon others.

It has also taken a selective approach to international law and rules, utilizing or discarding them as it sees fit, and has sought to impose rules that serve its own interests in the name of upholding a "rules-based international order".

The US' military hegemony has caused humanitarian tragedies. Since 2001, the wars and military operations launched by the US in the name of fighting terrorism have claimed over 900,000 lives with some 335,000 of them civilians, injured millions and displaced tens of millions.

The US has established institutional hegemony in the international economic and financial sector by manipulating the weighted voting systems, rules and arrangements of international organizations and its domestic trade laws and regulations. By taking advantage of the dollar's status as the major international reserve currency, the US is basically collecting "seigniorage" from around the world. The hegemony of the US dollar is the main source of instability and uncertainty in the world economy.

The US seeks to deter other countries' scientific, technological and economic development by wielding monopoly power, suppression measures and technology restrictions in high-tech fields. It politicizes, weaponizes technological issues and uses them as ideological tools. By building small blocs in technological fields such as its "chips alliance" and "clean network," the US has put "democracy" and "human rights" labels on high-technology, and turned technological issues into political and ideological issues, so as to fabricate excuses for its technological blockade against other countries.

The US abuses its technological hegemony by carrying out cyberattacks and eavesdropping. The United States has long been notorious for being an "empire of hackers", blamed for its rampant acts of cyber theft around the world.

The hegemonic, domineering, and bullying practices of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm. The US has been overriding truth with its power and trampling justice to serve its self-interest.

The US must conduct serious soul-searching. It must critically examine what it has done, let go of its arrogance and prejudice, and quit its hegemonic, domineering and bullying practices.