The US administration is trying to leave a toxic legacy for its successor that will not only continue to inflict wounds on the most important bilateral ties in the world, but also sabotage a global post-pandemic recovery.

As indicated by the volleys of invective he has fired at China on Twitter over the past two days, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is even trying to embroil international organizations in its witch-hunt of China.

But contrary to his intentions, his lengthy naming of key international organizations, which he accused of being in China's pocket, merely demonstrated the scope of China's role in international governance. And in doing so, he inadvertently highlighted Beijing's commitment to a fair rules-based international order, multilateral cooperation and the common development of the whole world.

Pompeo also unwittingly put the spotlight on the outgoing US administration's unreserved and destructive embrace of unilateralism and hegemonism when he delivered a live address at the headquarters of Voice of America, a mouthpiece of Washington, on Monday, in which he called on the broadcast organization to promote "American exceptionalism".

Pompeo visits Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, on his last trip as the US top diplomat, during which, according to a State Department statement, he is due to meet with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to highlight the enduring importance of "adapting to new security challenges", which in Pompeo-State Department-speak means China.

But his appeal to the organization to carry forward the administration's anti-China legacy only serves to show the extent to which the US has become estranged from the international community. That is a consequence of the administration's actions, not because of China or any other party. It is simply a result of its own miscalculated policy choices. It is the US administration that has taken the initiative to walk away from international organizations, programs and pacts, citing baseless pretexts, that merely betray the myopia of its "America first" ideology.

Its attempts to wind back the clock on economic globalization to regain the dominance it enjoyed over the global governance system were doomed to failure, as there is no end to history in sight.

The problems the US faces, ranging from unemployment to racial divisions and the widening income gap, are internal. They are not symptoms of the US receiving unfair treatment by other countries. Solving these issues is difficult as it requires moving the cheese of vested interests.

The outgoing administration tried to avoid dealing with the issue by claiming the US cheese was getting smaller because it was being stolen by others, which proved such an appealing refrain to its supporters that it applied it to the presidential election result with the intention of subverting it. With the US president banned from using social media in the fallout from that, Pompeo is enthusiastically playing the role of crier for the administration's anti-China gospel.

But all he is doing is declaring that some in the US want a surfeit of the world's cheese for themselves.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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