BEIJING - Beth: The head of the Chinese Media Group said, at a global forum in Beijing, that China's democracy brings happiness to our people... and the United States imposes its own democracy on others without any regard for cultural differences.

It is well known that a country's democratic system is deeply rooted in its history, culture, and traditions, and therefore, there is no "one size fits all" democratic model.

Shen Haishong, president of China Media Group (CMG), made his remarks at the International Forum on Democracy: Common Human Values ​​held on Saturday in Beijing. It was attended by more than 500 senior politicians and researchers from 120 countries and 20 international organizations. He said that the comprehensive people's democracy in China gives the Chinese people a sense of happiness and achievement, has helped 1.4 billion people get rid of extreme poverty, and brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control.

According to Shen, the people are the only entity entrusted with ruling over the democracy applied in their country, and real democracy must be used to improve the level of people's welfare.

On the other hand, he criticized what the United States is doing as it imposes its own democratic system on other countries without any consideration for the cultural and historical differences that characterize these countries.

Shen commented that this act brought economic turmoil and humanitarian disasters to the local population.

Shen also mentioned that the riots in the United States Capitol in early January, Washington's hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the country's high death toll during the COVID-19 pandemic proved that the American democratic system is seriously flawed.

Noting that CGTN's coverage of the events in Afghanistan showed the world the real situation the country is going through, Chen pledged that the Chinese media group would continue to shoulder its responsibility as a major international media platform concerned with spreading the truth and sharing democratic events in China.

We believe in the power of justice, and we will be committed to spreading an objective and just democratic awareness, Shin added.

He also pledged to work actively to create a healthy environment for world public opinion and to promote exchanges between different civilizations to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

As for Shi Fushan, President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he said that democracy is a tangible and ever-evolving phenomenon, and since democracy is deeply rooted in history and culture, it takes many forms and develops according to the paths that people set for it based on their explorations and innovations.

According to Yukio Hatoyama, the former prime minister of Japan, the United States should focus on shared values ​​in the international community and avoid losing deals in international relations rather than overemphasizing its values.

Kenneth M. Quinn - the former US ambassador to Cambodia - hopes that China and the US will work together to promote democracy through cooperation and multilateral diplomacy under the framework set by the United Nations (UN).