The Chinese embassy in New Zealand published a statement on Sunday on the issue of "economic coercion" raised by "a small group of countries" in a joint declaration. This was obviously a reply to a joint declaration issued by the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Japan on Friday.

In the joint declaration, the six developed countries emphasized that "trade-related economic coercion and non-market-oriented policies and practices" threaten the multilateral trading system and harm the relations between countries. Although they didn't single out any country in their declaration, no one was left in any doubt that it was China they were referring to.

Yet, as the Chinese embassy's statement said, it is plain to see which country is conducting coercive, high-handed bullying, economically or otherwise.

Whether in terms of the quantity of the relevant sanctions and restrictive measures imposed, or the scope of affected countries, industries, companies, technologies and individuals, it is self-evident which country is imposing "economic coercion" on others. It is the US that is overstretching and abusing the concept of national security to impose protectionist policies under various pretexts that violate both the World Trade Organization rules and the commitments made jointly by all parties in an unabashed manner.

Smearing other countries, either directly or indirectly, won't whitewash the US' own dismal record on coercion and hegemony. Making such blatant accusations against others is simply to justify and glorify its own coercive acts and to pursue exceptionalism. Practicing double standards on this issue is full of hypocrisy and severely undermines the relevant international mechanisms and rules jointly established and universally recognized by the international community.

In contrast, China always practices multilateralism, and pursue win-win cooperation. It is the US gang, however, that takes a selective approach to rules and international laws.

As Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore early this month, "they never tell the world what the rules are and who made these rules. They practice exceptionalism and double standards and only serve the interests and follow the rules of a small number of countries."

Using "economic coercion" to suppress and contain other countries will ultimately lead to "throwing stones at one's own feet" and affect one's own economic growth and people's well-being. It is hoped that relevant parties can make right and independent judgments based on the merits of the matter and their own interests.