Taiwan yes, China no: Biden’s guest list to the Democracies Summit raises blisters in Beijing

The guest list of Joe Biden to virtual summit for democracy it has raised blisters in some countries. It is the case of Russia and China, who have shown their discomfort at not having been invited to this call that will bring together 110 countries at the proposal of the President of the United States.

The ambassadors of these two powers published an article last week in the conservative magazine The National Interest in which they criticize their omission in this event, to which they have been invited Taiwan and Ukraine. Moscow and Beijing denounce that the US claims the right to decide “which countries are democratic and which are not eligible for such status”, something that for them is typical of a “Cold War mentality”.

The international meeting excludes Turkey and Hungary, but includes Brazil and Poland, a country the latter criticized in European organizations for its political drift contrary to the division of powers. They also stay out of the appointment Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Venezuela has not been invited, but yes Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim president by dozens of countries. Countries that have been invited are India, the Philippines and Serbia, pointed out by human rights organizations for their lack of commitment to democracy.

This meeting has been called by the State Department for December 9 and 10 and will focus on three topics: defense against authoritarianism, the fight against corruption and the promotion of respect for human rights, as explained by the White House. The US goal is also to restore the United States as a global beacon of democracy and diplomatic cooperation. But what has bothered Beijing the most is the invitation to Taiwan as a country. It should be remembered that the autonomous island is a territory claimed by China as part of its sovereign territory.

Beijing believes that the summit is just an excuse to delve into the geopolitical goals of Washington and “repressing other countries, dividing the world, serving their own interests and maintaining their hegemony in the world,” in the words of the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian.

Last week, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, He recalled that in the early 1990s Moscow and Washington fought to “reduce and eliminate these dividing lines.” “Now, unfortunately, the United States prefers to create a new dividing line and divide countries into good and bad, according to its criteria,” said Peskov, who accused the US of trying “Privatize the word ‘democracy'”, to add that for Washington democracy is only what fits its understanding of it.

The December summit will be the first of two on democracy to be held by Biden with the stated goal of achieving “democratic renewal” by defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption or respecting human rights.