Though some U.S. politicians are trying everything to contain the country’s development and hinder the exchanges between China and the U.S., China still chooses to stand on the right side of history, responding with calmness, composure and confidence.

China, facing the world and future, is determined to walk along the road of peaceful development and will resolutely safeguard world peace and promote common development ,just like Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his New Year speech this year that “Human history, like a river, runs forever, witnessing both peaceful moments and great disturbances. We are not afraid of storms and dangers and barriers.”

The powerful strength gathered by China when the country is sailing in rains and storms demonstrates the country's resolution and determination to safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and development interests, with its core national interests as the inviolable bottom line, as well as to protect international justice and equity.

The current difficulties in China-U.S. relations are completely created by the U.S. side. The latter aims to contain China’s development, and is even doing everything possible to achieve its goal. For some time, some American politicians have been continuously fabricating stories to slander China and tried to escalate their provocation against China, from smearing the Communist Party of China (CPC) and China’s political system to suppressing Chinese enterprises in the name of the so-called national security, and from arbitrarily imposing restrictions on Chinese news organizations and personnel conducting regular news reporting in the U.S and expelling Chinese journalists, to interrogating, harassing, and even detaining Chinese students in the U.S. What they did to undermine China-U.S. relations goes against history.

Charles W. Freeman, former U.S. senior diplomat and former U.S. President Richard Nixon’s translator, remarked that the U.S. seems determined to retain its supremacy – not by correcting its own deficiencies – but by tripping up and immobilizing China. By maintaining hegemony with hegemonic acts, the U.S. is the largest destroyer of today’s international order. It is standing on the opposite side of history and the international society.

It’s an international consensus that in the era of globalization, countries shall seek win-win results with strategic mutual trust, rather than containing each other with strategic threats. Mutual respect and trust help countries create common opportunities and development, while bullying and hegemony only leads to isolation. It’s ridiculous that some U.S. politicians are ceaselessly putting on awkward shows on the wrong side of history, imagining to change China with lies and intimidation. However, they don’t know that their practices are not able at all to achieve their goals.

It’s not the first day for the U.S. to deal with China, so it knows that the latter has never compromised to external pressure. Seventy years ago, when the U.S. moved its military to the bank of the Yalu River, China made a historic decision to safeguard its homeland and protect justice despite it was still a backward and poor country then. Thirty some years ago, the U.S. initiated a large-scale sanction on China and the U.S. Congress adopted over 20 bills that interfered in China’s domestic affairs. However, China made no compromise on matters of principle, proving that “China is magnanimous and is not upset by trifles like that.”

China has reiterated its stance publicly on U.S. hegemonic acts and made necessary countermeasures. The country has no intention to challenge, replace or confront with the U.S., but it will not hurt its own core interests, either.

China’s policy stance on developing China-U.S. relations has been consistent and maintains a high degree of stability and continuity. China is always ready to work with the U.S. in the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and will always exercise maximum restraint and never make troubles.

Both history and reality proves that as long as China follows the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and takes control of the future of the country and nation, it will never be overwhelmed by any external force. China is not afraid of extreme pressure, willing to negotiate, and dares to respond to wars. The world has witnessed the solidarity and indestructible power generated by the 1.4 billion Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic, which fully proves that China fears no obstacle and will always grow in tribulations.

The U.S. politicians that run counter to history and wish to maintain monopolar hegemony will never gain support from the public. The international rule of law, justice, fairness, equality and mutual trust would all be trampled on if they are not stopped. Facing such arbitrary practices, China has made its firm and rational response - to safeguard multilateralism, international justice, and the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

The future of China-U.S. relations comes from today’s choice and the lessons learned from history. To better steer the direction for the two countries’ relations, the fundamental interests of the people from the two countries and the rest of the world must be taken into consideration. The U.S. shall understand China from an objective and rational manner, make reasonable and practical policies for China, and take actions that help the bilateral relationship return to the right track.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)