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Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang and Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov jointly published an article on Friday entitled "Respecting People's Democratic Rights" on the National Interest magazine to voice against the Biden administration's so called Summit for Democracy on December 9 and 10, which according to the article will "stoke up ideological confrontation." 

The virtual Summit for Democracy that will be hosted by US President Joe Biden is "An evident product of its Cold-War mentality, this will stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world, creating new 'dividing lines.' This trend contradicts the development of the modern world. It is impossible to prevent the shaping of a global polycentric architecture but could strain the objective process. China and Russia firmly reject this move," according to the article.

The event, which reportedly will include 110 invitees, has been criticized as "a wimpy show of the US." It is an attempt "to turn multicolor modern world into black and white divisions," according to Andrey Kortonov, the director general of the Russian International Affairs Council.

"Countries should focus on running their own affairs well, not condescendingly criticizing others," Chinese and Russian ambassadors to the US wrote in the article. "There is no need to worry about democracy in Russia and China. Certain foreign governments better think about themselves and what is going on in their homes." 

Also on Friday, the 18th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of China, Russia and India was carried out through video link. On the occasion, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that China, Russia and India have embarked on development paths suited to their own national conditions and they have the responsibility to foster a correct view of democracy, get out of the "democracy trap" set by certain countries and oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of democracy.

The event in early December will be the first of two summits for democracy hosted by Biden. It will focus on three key themes including "defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights," according to the US Department of State. 

"However, there's one huge problem: The US and its allies are disproportionately responsible for a lot of the world's erosion of liberal democracy, and there's data to back this up," said Bradley Blankenship, a Prague-based American journalist, columnist and political commentator.

Faced with an array of global challenges, countries urgently need to strengthen coordination and cooperation for common progress, appealed the Chinese and Russian ambassadors. 

"China and Russia call on countries: to stop using 'value-based diplomacy' to provoke division and confrontation; to practice mutual respect and win-win cooperation in international relations, and to work for harmonious coexistence between countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and development levels," affirmed ambassadors Qin Gang and Anatoly Antonov.

Global Times