Democracy needs champions, Biden tells summit of world leaders

WASHINGTON • US President Joe Biden warned of the need to vigilantly protect democratic values at the start of a two-day summit yesterday that has stoked tensions with China and Russia and comes as the United States plans to announce additional human rights-related sanctions.

"Democracy needs champions," Mr Biden told attendees at the virtual gathering of world leaders dubbed the Summit for Democracy. "The data we're seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction," he said, adding that erosion of democratic values is "being exacerbated by global challenges that are more complex than ever, and which require shared efforts to address these concerns".

The Biden administration organised the event as part of its efforts to counter what it deems authoritarian regimes.

Officials from more than 100 governments are expected to attend, as are activists, private sector leaders and journalists.

US officials say they will announce fresh sanctions aimed at punishing human rights abuses and corruption. The Treasury Department later accused 15 government officials and entities of involvement with corruption, including officials in El Salvador and Guatemala involved in their countries' Covid-19 responses.

Mr Biden also pledged that the US will commit as much as US$424 million (S$578 million) over the next year to shoring up democracy worldwide.

He has argued that leaders including China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are working to undermine democratic systems. Neither country was invited to the event.

China and Russia have been dismissive of the gathering, with the ambassadors to the US from both countries jointly authoring an article accusing the US and the international norms it supports of being "obviously anti-democratic".

Mr Biden is hosting the summit at a fragile moment for US democracy. His predecessor Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen have become a litmus test for Republican candidates, and Mr Trump and his allies are working to install sympathetic state election officials ahead of next year's midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race.

Mr Biden took office days after Mr Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6 as lawmakers were preparing to certify the election results.

"Here in the United States, we know as well as anyone that renewing our democracy, (and) strengthening our democratic institutions, requires constant effort," Mr Biden said yesterday.

US decisions over who to invite to the summit have stirred controversy. Taiwan is one of Asia's more vibrant democracies but is not formally recognised by the US and most other countries as a sovereign nation, and China has attacked the island's inclusion in the event. And in some other invitee nations - including Brazil, the Philippines and Poland - there has been a recent erosion of democratic institutions.

China has been especially aggressive in counter-programming the summit and last week hosted an International Forum on Democracy that drew attendees from 120 countries and other entities, according to the Chinese state media.

In a White Paper, Beijing asserted that China is a "democracy that works" despite its single-party rule, which, to many observers, would disqualify it from being considered a democracy.

BLOOMBERG