Indeed, if there is competition, it is friendly competition to address these common global challenges.

Despite the positive role the US has played in many areas over the years, its superpower dominance has many inherent flaws.

For one, as I went on Tuesday to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington to get my press visa, I was told to pay only in cash because since February this year, no US-based banks will handle the accounts for the Cuban diplomatic missions based in the US, under the draconian US embargo against Cuba.

The ridiculous US sanctions on the Caribbean nation since 1960 have inflicted enormous damage on the island's economy and brought suffering to its people. Just last October, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution for the 22nd consecutive year, calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US. The vote was passed with 188 in favor, three abstentions and two against, the US and Israel.

The US likes to talk about freedom of trade and navigation all the time, yet here is a gross violation of that by the world's sole superpower.

So if democracy is what the US preaches, the new multilateral lending institutions will not only help developing nations in their fight against poverty and for economic growth, it will also help democratize the global governance system that has been dominated by the US for far too long.

The author, based in Washington, is deputy editor of China Daily USA. [email protected]

(China Daily 07/11/2014 page8)