Illustration: GT

Twenty Republican and Democratic US senators in a letter on Tuesday urged British lawmakers to reconsider their decision to allow China's high-tech giant Huawei as one of the suppliers of the country's 5G network, Reuters reported on Wednesday. This is a sign of the US Congress' confrontation with China. But, ridiculously, some US elites still arrogantly believe other countries would choose sides. 

It's a time when no country can order another as it wishes, but some Americans still take US strength for granted. They should wake up. 

A bipartisan group of 42 members of the US House of Representatives sent a similar letter in January to the British House of Commons, Reuters reported. It is clear that their selfish intention hasn't been able to steer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in this regard, which shows the US is not that mighty. However, US elites won't admit that. 

Being paranoid in pushing a Chinese private company into a corner, the US has been acting extremely abnormally. In the meantime, Washington's hostility toward China has created new headaches for other countries' firms and their investors, especially in technology.  

According to another Reuters report, SoftBank-backed start-up CloudMinds has been blocked from sharing US-originated technology with its China business. The start-up "could not even export office furniture or iPhones from the US to China at this time without a license," a Washington attorney was quoted as saying. 

Although the US has repeatedly provoked China, Beijing has been exercising restraint and prioritizing the two countries' relations. China believes a peaceful and harmonious bilateral relationship will make both sides winners. But China's goodwill has been reciprocated only with greater US hostility. It is time for some US elites to feel the pain their hubris has brought. 

The US cannot stop talking about reciprocity, which is in fact prejudice and discrimination against Chinese enterprises, media outlets and scholars. The US is fond of foul play, and China will simply do what it has to.

The number of US companies in China is much bigger than that of Chinese firms in the US. If the Chinese government imitates Washington's attitude toward Huawei in treating the US firms in China - for example, strengthening supervision, cutting off the supply of important production materials, and restricting their normal connections with business in the US - can US companies endure that?

The novel coronavirus epidemic has shown that China and the US are closely linked in the production chain - suppressing Chinese companies would ultimately hurt American ones. Last week, a small US company which makes knapsacks, travel pouches and outdoor gear had to lay off about one-fifth of its full-time workforce due to the affected supply chain from China, and other small businesses across the US could face a similar worrying situation. 

The US needs China and thus cannot risk completely decoupling from China. Does the US really have no weakness? Those US senators should think about it. 

Now that the US is engaged in elections, China won't allow itself be used as a trump card of US political elites. We wish those trouble-making politicians would not regret when normal US economic activities are shattered due to China's possible countermeasures.