Last week, the United States launched an investigation to find out whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks and it could impose restrictions because of concerns about "connected" car technology.

The US has taken similar measures against any company or country that it feels threatens the dominant position of the US in military, economic, financial, technological and other fields. In the 1980s, to eliminate the economic challenge from Japan, the US coerced Japan to sign the Plaza Accord, severely damaging its economic vitality.

In the 2010s, the US resorted to "extraterritorial jurisdiction" to dissect the French manufacturing company Alstom, ultimately leading to its core power business being acquired by its competitor General Electric. In 2018, the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products from multiple countries and regions, including the European Union, under the pretext of "safeguarding national security".

The US' "preemptive measures" targeting Chinese EVs are nothing more than a deliberate attempt to smear China's high-end manufacturing, a trick similar to the one it used when suppressing Chinese companies such as Huawei. By doing so the US exposes itself as being the disruptor of the multilateral trading system and the global industry and supply chains and the implementer of unilateralist bullying.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in an interview that Chinese-made cars are like "iPhones on wheels". So, does that mean that iPhones collect data from all over the world?