Chen Xiaodong
At a time when the world is in turmoil and faced with numerous global challenges, the United States has once again positioned itself as a "leader of democracy" by hosting the second "Summit for Democracy".
However, in the process of pushing for a single or absolute model of democracy and using democracy as an instrument or weapon in international relations, the US has purposefully stoked bloc politics and confrontation, which is none other than a breach of the spirit of what democracy stands for.
The summit is essentially about creating division. The US, obsessed with power politics, stubbornly engages in zero-sum games and clings to a Cold War mentality. Since its birth, the "Summit for Democracy" has been nothing but exclusive. The summit chooses its participants based on the US standard of democracy and divides countries, around the world, into "democratic countries" with the US at the centre and otherwise, "non-democratic countries". By applying "identity politics" in the field of democratic values, the US is trying to create a bloc of countries that look up only to the US.
Sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs are important principles enshrined in the UN Charter and fundamental norms governing international relations. This selective summit summoned by the US provokes confrontation among countries, undermines the authority of the UN and true multilateralism, and disrupts normal friendly exchanges among countries in the political, economic and cultural fields, which will not help resolve regional hotspot issues but will only hinder international cooperation in addressing global risks and challenges.
The purpose of this summit is to promote hegemony. The US has long been intervening in the internal affairs of other countries under the disguise of democracy, freedom, and human rights. And this summit is simply a rehash of the US’ consistent pursuit of hegemony in the name of democracy.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) of the US is the mastermind behind many subversion movements. The NED incited protests, demonstrations and "colour revolutions" in Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia and Arab countries to overturn these countries’ governments and replace them with pro-US political forces by providing funding, training and spreading false information.
The US has been using the "divide and conquer" strategy to coerce countries around the world, especially African countries, to take sides. The Institute for Global Dialogue of South Africa says in its report that the US is trying to use African countries as a tool and leverage to contain the influence of China and Russia in Africa and beyond.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has also told US Secretary of State Blinken that the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act passed by the US House of Representatives is "most unfortunate", "disappointing" and "offensive", emphasising that South Africa is a sovereign country and cannot be told by other countries which side to take.
The summit will only add instability to the world. Using democracy as a disguise, the US attempts to transform other countries according to its own values and political system, with an aim to construct a world order that is favourable to itself. The US practised a “Neo-Monroe Doctrine” in Latin America, instigated “colour revolutions” in Eurasia, and orchestrated the “Arab Spring” in West Asia and North Africa.
Wielding the big stick of its scientific and financial hegemony, the US has imposed unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on nearly 40 countries around the world, affecting nearly half of the world's population.
One cannot help but wonder how can a troublemaker who manipulates politics and incites division and confrontation be expected to bring peace and prosperity to humanity?
In stark contrast to the American-style democracy, underpinned by the US hegemony, China has explored a new path for human democracy by developing a whole-process people’s democracy based on its national conditions.
China's democracy is a whole-process people's democracy, of which the essence is that the people are masters of the country. Different from the Western concept of "one person, one vote", China's democracy has a full-fledged institutional procedure and a complete set of practices, opening up broad prospects for the Chinese path to modernisation.
The "Two sessions" held in March this year have incorporated the people's aspirations into the top-level plan for national development, writing a new narrative for China’s democracy. China's democracy fully respects the principal position of the Chinese people, and has translated their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity into a powerful driving force for China’s economic and social development. This has enabled China to eliminate absolute poverty and create a miracle of modernisation and common prosperity for its 1.4 billion people.
Polls conducted by Harvard Kennedy School for 10 years in a row show that the Chinese people's satisfaction with the government has remained above 90% year after year, which fully demonstrates the Chinese people's support for Chinese democracy.
China's democracy not only benefits the Chinese people but also contributes to greater democracy in international relations. In the international arena, China has always been committed to promoting the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind and has always been steadfast in promoting multi-polarity in the world and opposing hegemonism.
China has been a firm "advocate" and "activist" of true multilateralism by injecting strong positive energy into the cause of building a community with a shared future for mankind with the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative which has been put forward by President Xi Jinping not long ago. On top of that, China has successfully mediated a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore the two countries’ diplomatic relations.
It has released "China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis" in an effort to promote dialogue and peace. All these efforts have demonstrated China’s great sense of responsibility as a major country.
China and South Africa are both important developing countries with similar views on development, security and international order, as well as a broad consensus on major international and regional issues. China and South Africa have always practised true multilateralism, upheld fairness and justice, and firmly safeguarded the legitimate rights and common interests of developing countries, which is fundamentally different from certain country’s behaviour of seeking hegemony in the name of democracy.
China will work with South Africa to achieve greater development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, promote greater democracy in international relations, and make new contributions to building China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era and a community with a shared future for mankind.
Chen is the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to South Africa.