On Monday, Chinese state media published a new editorial of great importance to U.S. interests. The Global Times declared that "referring to 5G competition as an arms race and attaching so much importance to the dominance of the technology is typical American thinking."

It isn't that hard to understand why President Xi Jinping is so mad about 5G. To achieve that which drives his global hegemonic ambition, Xi must usurp U.S. trading relationships, undercut U.S. alliances, and, most relevant here, steal U.S. intellectual property.

But that task is a lot harder if the U.S. limits China's appropriation of technology and hacking of global information flows. And that's exactly what the Trump administration is now doing. The U.S. issued new sanctions against Huawei on Monday. That adds to the motivation for the Global Times editorial.

And what prompted the Global Times' editorial was a New York Times report from Saturday, describing U.S. efforts to lobby foreign governments to stop Huawei and other Chinese technology firms from building 5G data networks. This shows, the Global Times says, that the U.S. is "completely ignoring business rules and savagely suppressing Huawei ... But Washington has no evidence of Huawei espionage, only imaginary accusations. Washington wants to deprive Chinese companies of their right to lead 5G technology. The U.S. is using geopolitics rather than market rules in 5G construction."

Coming from a government that treats business rules as a joke, that capriciously uses its technology firms as intelligence service cutouts, and that denies foreign companies any fair competition in China, this lament is the very summit of hypocrisy. Still, it targets a specific audience. Aware that its best strategy here is to manipulate global anti-American sentiments, the Global Times presents its argument as a moral narrative for global political equality: "Globalization greatly promoted the integration of all countries' interests and brought about a great evolution in distribution of profits. In the future, the power of a few select countries can no longer dominate the whole world."

No one should take China at its word. Instead, we should unequivocally endorse Trump administration and congressional action to restrain China's 5G activity. The simple point is that when it comes to international order, China is a master at saying the right thing and doing the opposite. In the New York Times report, for example, we see a reference to Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei's recent declaration that "I support the Communist Party of China. But I will never do anything to harm any other nation."

It sounds good, and alongside vast Chinese investments, these words are very tempting for many nations. But like those party elites he serves, Ren is a liar. This is an increasingly understood truth among U.S. and allied governments. The New York Times hints at it, but the U.S. and British intelligence communities have excelled in identifying the truly vast scale of Chinese cyber-espionage. It must be said here that Prime Minister Theresa May's support for the U.S. on China is far greater than that of her predecessor, David Cameron.

So where does all this leave Xi? With an understandable sense of fear. The Global Times shows Xi's fear that America that is slowly waking up to his game. If so, its editorial ends with a rather pathetic rejoinder. "The U.S. strategic vision for 5G," it says, "is lame and runs counter to the spirit of the times."

Wrong. This U.S. strategic vision is critical toward protecting free markets and preserving liberal democratic order in the 21st century. Accepting China's lie would be to kneel to a dragon that is determined to burn our better future.