China's Harsh Criticism: "American-Style Democracy Will Ultimately Lead to Social Division"

The Democracy Summit is 'an incident where a single toxic hornet threatened a swarm of honeybees'
A meeting arranged by Biden to prevent a return to Trumpism and the rise of far-right forces in the US

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] 'An incident where a single venomous wasp threatened a swarm of honeybees'

This is how Chinese media evaluated the U.S.-led 'Summit for Democracy' that opened on the 9th (local time). Chinese state media labeled the Summit for Democracy as a political show by the U.S. aimed at containing China, fiercely criticizing U.S. President Joe Biden and the Western camp.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

China's state-run Global Times reported on the 10th in an article titled "The Summit for Democracy of a Confidence-Lacking President Biden" that the summit signifies that American-style democracy is facing a crisis and that the event intends to further escalate tensions with China.

The outlet argued that although President Biden stated in his speech that "democracy must be defended from authoritarianism," the summit is nothing more than a meaningless show to address problems in Western democracy.

It also pointed out that the Summit for Democracy serves as a platform for anti-China forces such as Taiwan and Hong Kong separatists, describing it as a U.S. strategy to contain China.

Lu Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The Western camp, including the U.S., believes that the previous U.S. administration led by Donald Trump damaged Western democracy and multilateralism," adding, "This summit was organized by the Biden administration to prevent a return to Trumpism and the rise of far-right forces within the U.S."

Professor Sun Dingli of Fudan University's International Studies Institute criticized the U.S., saying, "The U.S. excluded China and Russia from the summit because it lacks confidence to openly discuss democracy in the international community," and added, "The U.S. is not in a position to lecture or impose democratic systems or policies on other countries."

The People's Daily devoted an entire page on the 10th to satirize U.S. political behavior. In an editorial-like piece titled "Zongsheng," it pointed out that the U.S., which claims to be the beacon of democracy, is increasingly isolated. It emphasized that as political polarization deepens in the U.S., checks and balances fail, and the conflict between the two parties (Democrats and Republicans) has deteriorated from policy disputes to identity struggles, revealing structural flaws in the American democratic system. It stressed that American-style democracy inevitably leads to social division.

Xinhua News Agency linked the Summit for Democracy with the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, stating that the mask of the "empire of lies," the U.S., must be removed. It claimed that the U.S.'s allegations regarding human rights issues in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are false and that there is nothing new about American lies. It further accused the U.S. of glorifying its plundering and exploitation under the guise of defending justice and justifying its tyranny as promoting democracy.

Meanwhile, China advocated promoting "Asian-style democracy" in response to the U.S. Summit for Democracy. Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, delivered a virtual speech at the "14th Bali Democracy Forum" held the previous day, stating, "Asia, with its long history, has pluralistic and symbiotic traditions and has formed a democratic culture of negotiation and cooperation," emphasizing, "We advocate for equal negotiations and should make this an important part of democratization in the international community." This implies that instead of following Western-centered democracy led by the U.S. and others, Asia should pursue a democracy model suited to its own context.

Wang further argued, "Forming various cliques and small groups under the banner of democracy is, in effect, trampling on the democratic spirit and regressing in history." The cliques and small groups he referred to include U.S. alliances such as AUKUS.

The Bali Democracy Forum is a high-level Asia-Pacific regional forum led by the Indonesian government since 2008 to discuss ways to promote democracy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.