It's election time in the United States, so it comes as no surprise that a number of politicians there are seeing an imaginary enemy in China.

As the 2022 US midterm elections kicked off on Nov 8 — with all 435 seats in the House, 35 seats in the Senate and governor's posts in 36 states up for grabs — quite a few politicians on the campaign trail have resorted to blaming China for job losses in the US and some have raked up the COVID-19 virus, China-US ideological differences and other petty issues to blame a country that's on the other side of the Pacific.

Their purpose is to demonize China and project themselves as "protectors" of US interests to get votes. However, the fact remains that by demonizing China they are hurting, and not protecting, US interests.

China and the US are partners, not adversaries — this is a point every mainstream media and scholar in the two countries has stressed every time the two countries' businesses have met. Even with the US continuing its anti-China trade policies, the first 10 months saw bilateral trade reach $639.8 billion, 5.1 percent higher than the same period of last year.

It is impossible for the two countries to "decouple", as some US politicians are advocating. It might not be easy for a US citizen to find a blue-collar job right now, but if "decoupled" it will become even more difficult.

If the China-bashers get elected and implement the policies they are championing, US citizens might have to contend with worse than they are experiencing now. Western media outlets such as BBC Chinese and Nikkei Asia have already reported about this, and stressed how it is triggering hatred against Asians.

Such hatred is harming the US social order and threatening US people's security. There are enough US citizens living in insecurity because of the color of their skin. Those who punch China would do better by thinking more about these people, whose votes they seek.