China on Wednesday hit out at US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for obliquely accusing it as a threat to democracies, saying the countries claiming to be democracies faced the problems of racial discrimination and political polarisation. Addressing civil society members in his first public event on Wednesday after arriving in New Delhi, Blinken warned of rising global threats to democracy.
“At a time of rising global threats to democracy and international freedoms — we talk about a democratic recession — it’s vital that we two world leading democracies continue to stand together in support of these ideals,” Blinken said, without referring to China.
Asked for his reaction to Blinken’s remarks as he seemed to be raising concern about China without mentioning it by name, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, “I want to stress that democracy is a common value of humanity. It is not a patent to any country”.
The way to realise democracy is diverse without a certain pattern, he said.
“A multi-party political structure is not the only form of democracy and democracy cannot be used to stoke confrontation,” Zhao said.