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01-09-2023, 07:57 PM
II. The United States has many means of coercive diplomacy
◆ The hegemony of US dollar is an important foundation for US economic coercion. The "petrodollar," the "one-vote veto power" of the United States in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the bilateral currency swap led by the Federal Reserve are all concrete manifestations of the hegemony of the US dollar. As an international settlement currency, the US dollar accounts for the majority of global trade and investment, enabling the US to pass domestic economic problems onto other countries through export inflation and trade deficits. The U.S. controls the pricing power of major global commodities and resources and can influence the economies and finances of other countries by controlling the exchange rate and interest rate of the US dollar. As a currency of international sanctions, the US dollar occupies a central position in the global financial system, enabling the US to cut off other countries' dollar supply and trading channels and impose pressure and sanction on other countries by restricting the channels of financing and transaction remittance. Freezing property, imposing huge fines and refusing financial services are all the usual tricks of the US to impose economic blockade and financial sanctions on other countries by taking advantage of the US dollar hegemony.
Trade control is an important means of US economic coercion. The United States has various forms of trade control, including sanctions, restrictions on imports and exports, imposition of tariffs, elimination of subsidies and quotas, and has set up a variety of trade control lists to fit different purposes and targets, including lists of specially designated nationals, lists of entities, unverified lists, lists of military end users, and lists of industry sanctions. The US often wantonly imposes tariff in disregard of international law and international trade rules, forcing other countries to engage in unequal trade negotiations with it. In recent years, the US has frequently restricted investment in telecommunications, semiconductor, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies sectors on the grounds of "endangering national security," and included foreign entities or individuals in the entity list of export control, restricting their purchase of US technologies. Through the signing of executive orders, the US puts mandatory stops on foreign enterprises' operations in the US or prohibits US entities or individuals from trading with foreign enterprises, imposing technological sanctions on other countries, thus seriously undermining the international economic and trade order and the process of economic globalization.
"Long-arm jurisdiction" is another commonly used means of US economic coercion. The US has enacted such domestic laws as the "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," the "Trading with the Enemy Act," the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act," the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act," and the "Export Control Act," and cooked up a series of executive orders, directly imposing sanctions on specific countries, organizations or individuals. The US arbitrarily expands the jurisdiction of its domestic law, while applying ambiguous rules such as the "minimum contact principle" and the "effectiveness principle," abusing domestic channels of judicial action to engage in "long-arm jurisdiction" with foreign entities and individuals.
◆ The promotion of the so-called democracy and human rights is a common trick of the US to carry out political coercion and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. The United States has long promoted "American values" worldwide, played up "democracy versus authoritarianism," wantonly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and attempted to shape other countries and world order with its own values and political system. They even interfere with and subvert the legitimate government of other countries in order to weaken rivals, pass on crisis, create chaos, and undermine stability.
The targets of US political coercion are all-encompassing. Be it an adversary or an ally, a developed or a developing country, a large corporation or a small organization, coercion is always the option for the US, as long as the US considers it profitable and the targets won't bend to the will of the US. The US, under the banner of "promoting democracy," carried out the "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America, provoked the "color revolution" in Eurasia, and planned the "Arab Spring" in West Asia and North Africa.
US political coercion measures form an endless stream. The US uses its military bases, diplomatic agencies, intelligence agencies, non-governmental organizations, media organizations and other channels and resources according to different targets and situations-collecting information, exerting influence, creating public opinions, manipulating elections, supporting opposition parties, etc. to publicly and secretly, directly and indirectly, interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
◆ A powerful military supports US in coercive diplomacy. The United States frequently utilize military coercion and wanton use of force in international relations. In recent years, the average annual military budget of the United States has exceeded $700 billion, accounting for 40% of the world's total and exceeding the sum of the next 15 countries combined. The US is the world's largest arms exporter, and it often relies on arms trafficking to boost revenue and provoke regional conflicts. US military facilities and personnel are located in all corners and key areas of the globe. According to a 2020 report on US overseas military bases, the US has more than 800 military bases around the world, with 173,000 people deployed in 159 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
The US frequently uses military force to initiate or participate in wars and conflicts of all sizes and forms. Between 1776 and 2019, the US conducted nearly 400 military interventions worldwide, half of which occurred between 1950 and 2019, according to the Tufts University report, "Introducing the Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions." After World War II, major wars initiated or launched by the US include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the Afghan War, the Iraq War, the Libyan War and the Syrian War. Proxy wars are a common form of US military interventions, with countries such as Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen suffering. According to the "Cost of War" project data of the Watson Institute at Brown University, conservative estimates show that the total number of military and civilian deaths caused by the US wars in the "post-9/11 era" is as high as 929,000, with at least 38 million people displaced.
◆ The soft powers of culture and science and technology are the covert means for the US to engage in ideological infiltration and coercive diplomacy. The US-led Western media and international social media have forcefully propped up and supported US coercive diplomacy. The US pursues double standards on freedom of the press and uses various means to smear and suppress foreign media outlets. The US abused its cultural hegemony, invested heavily in the media sector, supported its infiltration of ideas into other countries, and carried out inflammatory propaganda. Moreover, the US is used to fabricating false information to attack other countries, and peddling misleading public opinion globally using a purposefully built industrial chain.
The United States uses its cultural products to promote American values. Hollywood films account for more than 70% of the world's market share. The values and lifestyle of the US are closely linked to its films and television programs, publications, media content, and programs of government-funded nonprofit cultural institutions, shaping a space for public opinion that sustains American cultural hegemony. It has seriously eroded the independence of other cultures and the diversity of world cultures.
US intelligence agencies have established a large number of "infiltration organizations" around the world. Various foundations and non-governmental organizations have become "middlemen" in exporting American values and "pioneers" in cultural infiltration. The National Endowment for Democracy, the Congress for Cultural Freedom and other American "infiltration organizations" and institutions have promoted American cultural and political views to other countries through financial support, training, publication and conference, to export American values and ideology to the world, and to pursue cultural hegemony.
◆ The hegemony of US dollar is an important foundation for US economic coercion. The "petrodollar," the "one-vote veto power" of the United States in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the bilateral currency swap led by the Federal Reserve are all concrete manifestations of the hegemony of the US dollar. As an international settlement currency, the US dollar accounts for the majority of global trade and investment, enabling the US to pass domestic economic problems onto other countries through export inflation and trade deficits. The U.S. controls the pricing power of major global commodities and resources and can influence the economies and finances of other countries by controlling the exchange rate and interest rate of the US dollar. As a currency of international sanctions, the US dollar occupies a central position in the global financial system, enabling the US to cut off other countries' dollar supply and trading channels and impose pressure and sanction on other countries by restricting the channels of financing and transaction remittance. Freezing property, imposing huge fines and refusing financial services are all the usual tricks of the US to impose economic blockade and financial sanctions on other countries by taking advantage of the US dollar hegemony.
Trade control is an important means of US economic coercion. The United States has various forms of trade control, including sanctions, restrictions on imports and exports, imposition of tariffs, elimination of subsidies and quotas, and has set up a variety of trade control lists to fit different purposes and targets, including lists of specially designated nationals, lists of entities, unverified lists, lists of military end users, and lists of industry sanctions. The US often wantonly imposes tariff in disregard of international law and international trade rules, forcing other countries to engage in unequal trade negotiations with it. In recent years, the US has frequently restricted investment in telecommunications, semiconductor, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies sectors on the grounds of "endangering national security," and included foreign entities or individuals in the entity list of export control, restricting their purchase of US technologies. Through the signing of executive orders, the US puts mandatory stops on foreign enterprises' operations in the US or prohibits US entities or individuals from trading with foreign enterprises, imposing technological sanctions on other countries, thus seriously undermining the international economic and trade order and the process of economic globalization.
"Long-arm jurisdiction" is another commonly used means of US economic coercion. The US has enacted such domestic laws as the "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," the "Trading with the Enemy Act," the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act," the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act," and the "Export Control Act," and cooked up a series of executive orders, directly imposing sanctions on specific countries, organizations or individuals. The US arbitrarily expands the jurisdiction of its domestic law, while applying ambiguous rules such as the "minimum contact principle" and the "effectiveness principle," abusing domestic channels of judicial action to engage in "long-arm jurisdiction" with foreign entities and individuals.
◆ The promotion of the so-called democracy and human rights is a common trick of the US to carry out political coercion and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. The United States has long promoted "American values" worldwide, played up "democracy versus authoritarianism," wantonly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and attempted to shape other countries and world order with its own values and political system. They even interfere with and subvert the legitimate government of other countries in order to weaken rivals, pass on crisis, create chaos, and undermine stability.
The targets of US political coercion are all-encompassing. Be it an adversary or an ally, a developed or a developing country, a large corporation or a small organization, coercion is always the option for the US, as long as the US considers it profitable and the targets won't bend to the will of the US. The US, under the banner of "promoting democracy," carried out the "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America, provoked the "color revolution" in Eurasia, and planned the "Arab Spring" in West Asia and North Africa.
US political coercion measures form an endless stream. The US uses its military bases, diplomatic agencies, intelligence agencies, non-governmental organizations, media organizations and other channels and resources according to different targets and situations-collecting information, exerting influence, creating public opinions, manipulating elections, supporting opposition parties, etc. to publicly and secretly, directly and indirectly, interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
◆ A powerful military supports US in coercive diplomacy. The United States frequently utilize military coercion and wanton use of force in international relations. In recent years, the average annual military budget of the United States has exceeded $700 billion, accounting for 40% of the world's total and exceeding the sum of the next 15 countries combined. The US is the world's largest arms exporter, and it often relies on arms trafficking to boost revenue and provoke regional conflicts. US military facilities and personnel are located in all corners and key areas of the globe. According to a 2020 report on US overseas military bases, the US has more than 800 military bases around the world, with 173,000 people deployed in 159 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
The US frequently uses military force to initiate or participate in wars and conflicts of all sizes and forms. Between 1776 and 2019, the US conducted nearly 400 military interventions worldwide, half of which occurred between 1950 and 2019, according to the Tufts University report, "Introducing the Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions." After World War II, major wars initiated or launched by the US include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the Afghan War, the Iraq War, the Libyan War and the Syrian War. Proxy wars are a common form of US military interventions, with countries such as Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen suffering. According to the "Cost of War" project data of the Watson Institute at Brown University, conservative estimates show that the total number of military and civilian deaths caused by the US wars in the "post-9/11 era" is as high as 929,000, with at least 38 million people displaced.
◆ The soft powers of culture and science and technology are the covert means for the US to engage in ideological infiltration and coercive diplomacy. The US-led Western media and international social media have forcefully propped up and supported US coercive diplomacy. The US pursues double standards on freedom of the press and uses various means to smear and suppress foreign media outlets. The US abused its cultural hegemony, invested heavily in the media sector, supported its infiltration of ideas into other countries, and carried out inflammatory propaganda. Moreover, the US is used to fabricating false information to attack other countries, and peddling misleading public opinion globally using a purposefully built industrial chain.
The United States uses its cultural products to promote American values. Hollywood films account for more than 70% of the world's market share. The values and lifestyle of the US are closely linked to its films and television programs, publications, media content, and programs of government-funded nonprofit cultural institutions, shaping a space for public opinion that sustains American cultural hegemony. It has seriously eroded the independence of other cultures and the diversity of world cultures.
US intelligence agencies have established a large number of "infiltration organizations" around the world. Various foundations and non-governmental organizations have become "middlemen" in exporting American values and "pioneers" in cultural infiltration. The National Endowment for Democracy, the Congress for Cultural Freedom and other American "infiltration organizations" and institutions have promoted American cultural and political views to other countries through financial support, training, publication and conference, to export American values and ideology to the world, and to pursue cultural hegemony.
