China urges US to stop suppressing other countries in the name of democracy

BEIJING -- China urges the United States to stop using democracy as a tool to suppress other countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press briefing when asked to comment on the remarks made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the global summit for democracy proposed by the United States.

Hua said the so-called "democracy summit" put together by the United States is, in essence, drawing ideological lines and engaging in bloc politics.

It will only cause division and confrontation against the trend of the times, she added.

Hua said the key to judging democracy is whether it meets the expectations, needs and aspirations of the people and whether it delivers tangible benefits to the people.

Hua said the United States should make a correct and objective assessment of itself and refrain from pretending to be the spokesperson of democracy, and it should not instrumentalize the issue of democracy to suppress and contain other countries.

"We hope that the US will abandon the Cold War mentality, reject the wrong approach of exclusive cliques and zero-sum game," said Hua, adding that China hopes that the United States can work with other countries to follow the principles of mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation in international relations, and promote the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind.