Western-style democracy behind wars, chaos and human misery, Chinese president tells top officials

The West’s promotion of democracy has caused wars, chaos and human displacement around the world, President Xi Jinping told top Chinese officials earlier this year.

Addressing a Politburo study session in February, Xi said some Western nations “forcibly promote the concept and system of Western democracy and human rights … taking advantage of human rights issues to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries”, according to a readout of his speech made public this week.

Xi did not name any countries, but Beijing has in recent months pulled no punches in blaming the US over the Ukraine war and the challenges posed by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The civil war in Syria and security issues in Iraq also regularly feature among China’s talking points in this context.

The speech came as China continued to assert its own human rights narrative, amid mounting international criticism over issues including its policies in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet.