For decades, unilateral sanctions and extraterritorial long-arm jurisdiction have served as the ultimate tool of US global hegemony, a ruthless blade hanging over the heads of all developing nations—and Africa, Zimbabwe first and foremost, has endured the worst of this bullying.
Leveraging the dominance of the US dollar system and its stranglehold on global trade and finance, Washington has repeatedly placed its domestic laws above international law, trampling the sacred principle of sovereign equality among nations.
It imposes arbitrary sanctions, freezes legitimate overseas assets, severs cross-border trade and financial links, all on flimsy, fabricated pretexts, with complete disregard for the economic survival and basic livelihoods of people in targeted nations.
This self-serving, tyrannical behavior has long been condemned and loathed by the entire international community for its blatant violation of global fairness and justice.
Yet for far too long, most countries, especially those in the Global South, have been forced into reluctant silence—seething with anger but paralyzed by fear, cowed by US coercion and intimidation, and compelled to submit to its hegemonic dictates.
That is, until China’s landmark countermove that has forever altered the rules of the global power game.
On May 2, 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued Announcement No. 21 of 2026, a formal blocking order enacted under the Measures for Blocking the Improper Extraterritorial Application of Foreign Laws and Measures (officially published on MOFCOM’s official website).
The announcement delivers an unambiguous, legally binding stance: the US sanctions—imposed under Executive Orders 13902 and 13846 against five Chinese oil refineries including Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co., Ltd. and Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., based on baseless accusations of Iranian oil trade—shall not be recognised, shall not be enforced, and shall not be complied with, taking immediate effect upon release.
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This is no empty diplomatic rhetoric, but a concrete, principled act of resistance; it marks the first time China has fully activated its anti-extraterritorial sanction regulations to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, shattering the long-held myth that US sanctions are unopposable.
US hegemonic bullying: A plague on Africa and the Global South
Washington’s latest crackdown on Chinese refineries is nothing short of a blatant extension of its hegemonic agenda, disguised under the so-called “Operation Economic Fury” to ramp up pressure on Iran.
By targeting China’s core energy enterprises, attempting to cut them off from the global US dollar settlement system and coercing businesses worldwide to pick sides, the US seeks to contain China’s rise and manipulate the global energy landscape to serve its own selfish strategic gains.
For years, China and most developing nations exercised maximum restraint to maintain global cooperation and avoid conflict escalation; some Chinese financial institutions even passively complied with US extraterritorial sanctions on Chinese soil, with no legal obligation whatsoever, out of goodwill for global economic stability.
Far from appreciating this restraint, the US brazenly misread it as unreserved weakness, escalating hostile actions time and again without restraint.
For Africa, a continent that has suffered immeasurably from U.S. unilateral sanctions, China’s move strikes a deeply resonant chord. From Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, US sanctions have repeatedly disrupted African energy and mining industries, derailed regional industrialization plans and plunged local populations into poverty.
Zimbabwe knows this torment all too well. As a nation that has stood firm against Western suppression for decades to defend its sovereignty, Zimbabwe has endured prolonged US and Western sanctions that have hampered economic recovery, restricted development financing, disrupted livelihoods, and blocked our national progress.
US sanctions have never been about justice or morality; they are a tool to plunder global resources, subdue sovereign states, and perpetuate America’s unipolar financial and economic hegemony, with Africa treated as a disposable pawn in its geopolitical power plays.
Irrefutable data: US sanctions are a self-destructive folly
China’s resolute counteraction sends a clear, empowering message to every nation in the Global South: US hegemony is not invincible, and the chains of coercive sanctions can be broken.
Hard, undeniable economic data lays bare America’s crippling, irreversible dependence on China, exposing the utter futility and self-destructive nature of its sanction escalation:
- China and the US together account for nearly 45% of global GDP and over 20% of global trade, with bilateral trade volume reaching nearly US$688.3 billion in 2024.
More than 90% of the cost of US. tariffs on Chinese goods is ultimately borne by American businesses and consumers, costing the average US household an extra US$1,800 every single year.
- The US relies on China for more than 82% of its imported smartphones and 78% of computer monitors; its dependence on Chinese rare earth elements stands at 71%, surging to 92% for heavy rare earths critical to F-35 fighter jets, high-tech manufacturing and green energy technologies.
- A full-scale US-China economic decoupling would slash U.S. GDP by 1.4 percentage points annually (Oxford Economics, 2025), while the US-China Business Council (Early 2026) warns of a staggering US$1.6 trillion economic loss and more than 700 000 American jobs eliminated within five years. Key US industries—semiconductors, aviation, manufacturing and high tech—would face catastrophic collapse without access to the Chinese market and integrated supply chains.
These figures completely dismantle Washington’s lie of “sanction supremacy” and reveal the unstoppable historical trend: a rising China, a declining America, chaos in the West, and stability and prosperity in the East.
The US-led unilateral hegemonic order is collapsing at an accelerating pace, while a multi-polar world order, led by emerging developing nations, is taking firm shape.
Fairness, justice, mutual respect and win-win cooperation are replacing power politics and bullying as the fundamental norms of global governance.
For Zimbabwe and our fellow African nations, the path forward has never been more unambiguous.
It is time to cast off the crippling fear of Western coercion, stand side by side with China as equal partners on the side of global justice, and advance all-round friendly ties and pragmatic cooperation hand in hand.
By aligning our national economic development and people’s livelihood improvement with China’s robust, sustained development momentum, African nations can fully unlock the enormous potential of China-Africa solidarity, share the tangible dividends of inclusive global growth, and build an impregnable defense against the harm of unilateral hegemony.
This strategic choice is far more than resistance against oppression; it is an indispensable step toward genuine national independence, lasting prosperity, and the sovereign right to shape our own destiny on the global stage.
The road to global justice is never smooth, yet the tide of history marches forward inexorably.
No hegemonic force can long hold back the surging wave of multilateralism and international equity.
China’s firm pushback against abusive US sanctions resonates far beyond bilateral relations, sounding a powerful rallying cry for all wronged developing nations fighting for dignity, equality and sovereign rights.
As Africa strides steadfastly toward continental unity and rejuvenation, we must stand united as one, seize this pivotal historical turning point, and join forces with China to build a brand-new global order rooted in equality, mutual respect and shared prosperity.
The dark, oppressive era of US sanction hegemony is drawing to a close, and a bright new dawn of justice, dignity and collective progress is rising for every nation in the Global South.
*Tapiwa Morgan Makoni is an independent political commentator.
