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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Lee Jersey Wang
Lee Jersey Wang

Opinion | US, China democracy summits just the start of a difficult global debate on government and society

  • The US and China clearly have fundamentally different views on what defines a democracy
  • Beijing’s attempt to explain its system of governance to the world is a positive move in fostering understanding, but is not meant to be a decisive conclusion

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Lee Jersey Wang
The United States last week hosted a Summit for Democracy. China took note and in response prepared its own International Democracy Forum, preemptively releasing a white paper on its own political system called China: Democracy That Works and organising a Dialogue on Democracy.
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The two sides are laying out a fundamentally different understanding of what defines a democracy. The American position has been clear for centuries: free and fair elections, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and a guarantee of inalienable rights and freedoms. Certainly, no introduction or event is needed for the US to make its stance known.

China, for its part, has mostly focused on pointing out the issues facing American democracy, including, it claims, social and political polarisation, wealth concentration towards the top 1 per cent, absence of responsibility, low efficiency of governance and low social trust.
China also argues that America’s concept of democracy is not universal and cannot be applied to all societies regardless of historical and social context. It is part of Beijing’s broader argument that the US has no right to criticise China and should refrain from doing so.

Up to now, though, China’s discourse on governance lacked an important element. If it does not agree with America’s concept of government, what kind would it like instead? The past two weeks have seen China attempt to answer that question and explain its system of government to the international community.

05:27

‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ explained

‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ explained

This is a positive move in fostering understanding and contributing to the international conversation on governance. China’s new message, however, merely represents the start of an international debate on how government and society in general should work, not a decisive conclusion.

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