People walk in Times Square in New York, the United States, on Aug. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

When the United States repeatedly abandons multilateralism, withdraws from international responsibilities and obligations, constantly engages in ideological confrontation, and repeatedly blame foreign factors for its domestic failures, the so-called "America First" would only face more opposition and its coveted "greatness" only diminish.

by Xu Xiaolei

BEIJING, Aug. 13  -- Recalling those strange days back in March, when I, as a Xinhua reporter working in New York for years, was suddenly forced to return home following the U.S. order limiting the number of Chinese journalists, I only felt everything that had happened was too dramatic to be true.

"ABRUPT END"

On March 2, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration ordered four Chinese media outlets to downsize their staff working in the United States. Starting from March 13, the four outlets were allowed to employ a combined 100 Chinese nationals in the United States, down about 40 percent, meaning 60 or so Chinese journalists had to leave the country.

The announcement came as I was about to attend a press conference held by the Chinese mission to the United Nations (UN).

As China was assuming the presidency of the UN Security Council for March, Zhang Jun, the Chinese permanent representative to the UN, briefed the press on the monthly work program.

I managed to stay calm despite the de-facto expulsion order and recorded the meeting carefully, knowing that my term in the Xinhua office at the UN may come to an abrupt end.

At the briefing on March 2, Zhang announced that the council would hold a debate on multilateralism during China's presidency. The proposal was reminiscent of what the United States had done to break with the multilateralist camp over the past couple of years when I was reporting on UN stories.