Do you really think the US doesn’t view the world solely through the lens of rivalry? That’s the underlying logic of capitalism: there are only winners and losers. Cooperation and partnership are temporary arrangements of convenience, they can always change and lists like this are one of the ways the US determines who’s next.

That’s why they use such an inflammatory term like “manipulator” - it’s meant to intimidate.

It doesn’t matter if any of them present a legitimate threat, all that matters is they’re in the way.