US not in rightful position to set standards for democracy: Chinese ambassador

DHAKA - As Washington seeks to rally some countries by holding a US-led "democracy summit," many around the world are questioning if the United States is in a solid position to make that call, according to an op-ed by Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming published in the Daily Sun.

In his article titled "Enough of Fundamentalism of Democracy" published in the Bangladesh's English newspaper on Friday, Li said many countries believe neither is the United States in a rightful position to set tests and standards for others nor does it have the rights to ask others to only follow its way of democracy.

A few countries have "a hegemonic mentality of recognizing countries with the same system as correct and those with a different one as wrong," excluding and attacking other models of democracy, which is "undemocratic in nature," he noted.