Although they did not mention China by name in their opening statement, the face-to-face meeting of the leaders of the so-called Quad countries on Friday in Washington was widely perceived as embodying the latest US-led effort to contain China's rise.

Setting themselves up as the sole arbiters of what constitutes a free and open order in the Indo-Pacific, by which they disingenuously refer to the Asia-Pacific, the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US made it clear that the underlying motivation for their shared endeavors is to demonize China's role in the region and thus sow the seeds of division.

People in the region cannot help but ask what it is these four countries have done to help the regional countries resolve their development predicaments and build a prosperous community. When the region was badly hit by the novel coronavirus last year, these countries sat on their hands pondering their geostrategic calculations, while China did its utmost to extend a helping hand to those countries in need by providing medical assistance and vaccines.

It is because China is making huge contributions to regional development and prosperity and is committed to international justice and fairness that it has become such a thorn in their sides.

In recent years, the US and the small cliques it has formed in the region, such as the Quad, have spared no effort in their attempts to isolate China in the region. In this regard, the US has not only taken advantage of the regional maritime disputes to stoke tensions but also used its military alliances to flex its muscles and sow the seeds of confrontation in the region.

The formation of AUKUS was announced just prior to the Quad meeting. This new three-way strategic alliance of Australia, the UK and the US is aimed at dragging China deeper into a debilitating geopolitical game. To this end, the US Congress also passed a $768 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, giving the green light to a major military spending boost that US politicians perceive as necessary to counter what they see as the geostrategic rivalry of China and Russia.

Washington's penchant for forming cliques and exacerbating geopolitical competition and confrontation make the US the biggest threat to regional peace and stability.

This is no longer a time when a few small cliques can lead the whole world by the nose. Today, the world is multipolar and peace and development have become the common aspirations of the world people. Those who insist on going against the trend of the times will sooner or later run into a stone wall.