Some reason would be welcome

The US administration on Wednesday reportedly issued new rules to restrict travel by Communist Party of China members and their families to the United States, limiting both visa validity and entry times. This came days after Beijing made representations following reports of US law-enforcement agencies asking arriving Chinese ship and flight crew members to clarify whether they were affiliated with the CPC or not.

The same day, the US government announced a ban on cotton and cotton products from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, citing alleged use of forced labor. A "much broader" import ban, targeting all cotton and tomato products from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is reportedly being studied.

Also on Wednesday, US government sources disclosed more than 1,000 Chinese researchers have left the US as a result of the ongoing crackdown on so-called technology theft.

Although everyone seems to be ready for China-US relations to worsen each passing day for the remainder of the current administration's term, such developments are worrisome signs that bilateral ties are being effectively shifted onto a dangerous path. The China hawks in the current administration are doing what they can to cement in place their tough China policy, which has already significantly hurt bilateral ties.

Even if the incoming administration has any intention to ease the tensions that have been sown, and continue being sown, some damage is simply beyond repair, as the sitting US president intends.

While many cherish the innocent hope the next administration may demonstrate reason and pragmatism, it would be harboring an illusion to believe that the new administration will instantaneously reset the relationship. The US president-elect has made it clear that he will not immediately lift the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.

The sequence of priorities for the new US administration may differ from that of the incumbent. As may its approach. But that in no way warrants the kind of optimism some have displayed. Not only has the US president-elect indicated he wants to rally the US against what he sees as a less than friendly China, but the recent deterioration in bilateral ties has fundamentally changed the political atmosphere for the China policies of the US. So much so that containing China has become a bipartisan consensus.

"The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act", which the US House of Representatives passed on Wednesday, for one, is widely believed to be aimed specifically at kicking Chinese off US stock exchanges. In such a political climate, where everything Chinese is being politicized, the "fair and non-discriminatory environment" Beijing wishes for seems difficult to come by.

But all the discriminatory moves that politically oppress Chinese firms, researchers and even laypeople will eventually hurt the reputation of the United States, weaken global investor's confidence in its capital market and damage its own interests.