Policy Alert #242 | December 13, 2021

On December 9-10, 2021, US President Joe Biden hosted the virtual Summit for Democracy focused on three pillars: countering authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights. Biden kicked off the two-day gathering with a dire warning that democratic rights and norms are under threat around the world, including in the US. The exclusion of China and Russia drew swift reactions from the countries’ leaders, who rejected the US’ notion of who is a “democratic country” and who is not eligible for such status. The summit comes after the US decision to stage a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over human rights abuses in Xinjiang. 

US officials have promised action following the gathering, but preparations were overshadowed by questions over some of the invitees’ democratic credentials. The event brought together democracies such as France and Sweden but also countries including the Philippines and Poland, where activists say democracy is under threat. In Asia, some US allies such as Japan and South Korea were invited, while others like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam were excluded. An invitation was extended to Pakistan, although it did not attend. Hungary was the only EU country not to receive an invitation. An invitation to Taiwan outraged China, although it did not attend as a sovereign state. 

China

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a scathing press statement in response to the Summit for Democracy, accusing the US of turning democracy into a “weapon of mass destruction” to interfere in other countries’ affairs and openly provoke division and confrontation. China hastily convened its own International Forum on Democracy on December 10 that according to state media was joined by politicians and scholars from more than 120 countries.

The Chinese and Russian ambassadors to Washington penned a joint commentary in the National Interest denouncing the Summit for Democracy as “a product of cold war thinking” and claiming that their authoritarian states were simply other models of democracy. The Chinese government also published a white paper called “China: Democracy That Works” as well as a report titled “The State of Democracy in the United States,” in which it claims to “expose the deficiencies and abuse of democracy” in America. 

China was irate that the US invited Taiwan to the Summit for Democracy. Interestingly, Pakistan pulled out of the summit after China was not invited. The decision was celebrated by Lijian Zhao, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, who said on Twitter, “Pakistan declined to attend the democracy summit. A real iron brother!” 

• In an op-ed for the independent South China Morning Post, Chandran Nair, Founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow, believes the US’ Summit for Democracy will backfire: “Washington’s Summit for Democracy has made half the world a pariah by defining as ‘authoritarian’ any country that does not share its choice of political system.”
• In the nationalist Global Times, Xue Li, Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, labels the summit as a symbol of the new ‘iron curtain’ of Neo-Westernism: “This… exclusive ‘new Western club’…so as to strike a blow against the so-called new Eastern countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and Hungary.”

 

India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “commended” the US for providing “a timely platform for furthering cooperation among democracies.” In his address to the summit, Modi affirmed the democratic spirit, arguing that respect for rule of law and pluralistic ethos, is “ingrained in Indians.” On Twitter, the PM tweeted, “Happy to have participated in the Summit for Democracy… As the world’s largest democracy, India stands ready to work with our partners to strengthen democratic values globally.” 

• In an op-ed for the liberal Indian Express, journalist Nirupama Subramanian warned India will be scrutinized at the Summit for Democracy: “Modi’s expected participation in the summit will come against a rather bleak backdrop of relativism, misinformation, confusion, obfuscation and polarization on issues of democracy, civil society and rights.” 
• In an op-ed for the center right Times of India, Indian journalist and politician Swapan Dasgupta claims Biden’s summit to ‘save’ democracy is “nothing more than virtue signaling.” 

 

Russia

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov fired at the summit, insisting, “Although the event is dubbed the ‘Summit for Democracy,’ it’s not directly related to democracy. The title is no more than a hashtag and a slogan.” In addition to the joint commentary with the Chinese ambassador attacking the summit, Russia issued a separate 2,000-word statement detailing the failings of US democracy, covering corporate manipulation of the media, the illegal enforcement of democracy overseas, and the false charge that the 2020 election may have been stolen from Donald Trump.

• The Russian news agency TASS claimed the summit’s goal was not to discuss democracy and human rights but to “fight to ensure the global dominance of the US and like-minded nations.” 

 

Japan

In a speech at the summit, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for international solidarity in addressing human rights violations. “It is necessary for like-minded countries to be united in tackling actions that would undermine fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law,” Kishida stated.