As Joe Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ convenes, questions arise about how ‘democracy’ is defined
- Beijing has condemned the event and expressed particular anger that Taiwan is among its 110 invitees
- Although China is not specifically mentioned in summit documents, it is a clear object of the proceedings
But the intervening months have not been kind to the administration as it prepares to host, starting Thursday, a two-day virtual Summit for Democracy. Despite a roaring stock market and the passage of massive bills covering pandemic relief and infrastructure, US democracy is on its heels. Voters are irritable, the electorate is mired in partisan battles and the nation is grappling with early January’s assault on the Capitol.
“The democracy summit is an idea whose time expired on January 6, 2021,” said Jeffrey Moon, head of China Moon Strategies and former US consul general in Chengdu. “Uncomfortable topics, a lack of commitments, problems with invitees and outcomes – all highlight contradictions in US policy.
“These are exceptions to the rule, but those that have an interest in pointing them out are going to do so.”
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Xi Jinping and Joe Biden call for mutual respect and peaceful China-US coexistence
China and Russia, both pointedly excluded from the meeting, have just such an interest. In a rare joint note late last month in the conservative National Journal, Beijing and Moscow condemned the US summit as an “evident product of its Cold War mentality” aimed at fuelling ideological confrontation and creating new divisions.
Beijing has expressed particular anger over the inclusion of Taiwan among the summit’s 110 invitees, especially after Taipei signalled its acceptance with a statement that started, “Our country’s invitation … ” Beijing considers the self-governed island to be a renegade province, to be reunified by force if necessary.