The second International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values was held in Beijing on Thursday. 

More than 300 guests, scholars and experts from over 100 countries and regions attended the forum in person or virtually to discuss democracy and sustainable development, democracy and innovation, democracy and global governance, democracy and the diversity of human civilization, and democracy and the path to modernization.

Discussing the origin, forms and effectiveness of multiple democratic systems, keynote speakers at the opening ceremony shared a consensus that true democracy is characterized by dialogue, mutual respect and mutual learning. They also stressed the necessity of the coexistence of different systems in a community committed to a shared future for mankind. 

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said in his opening speech that democracy is a shared human value, a universal goal pursued by all countries that seek modernization and the bedrock on which building a global community of shared future is based.

To form such a community, all countries should uphold the principle of democracy, advocate democracy in international relations and promote the rule of law in international governance, he said.

Li also stressed that countries should seek common ground, shelve differences and respect each country's path to democracy, adding that whether a country is democratic or not should be acknowledged by the international community, not arbitrarily by a few self-appointed judges.

"These acts – imposing one's model of democracy and 'democratic transformations' on others, or forming an 'alliance of values' in the name of 'democracy' versus 'autocracy' – create division and antagonism and trample on the democratic spirit, leaving a poisonous legacy despised by their targets," said Li.

Noting that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in order to address the common challenges faced by mankind, all countries need to be open and engage in dialogue to ensure that distinctive models of democracy can drive global progress.

According to Du Zhanyuan, head of China International Publishing Group, a recent survey conducted by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies shows that people in 23 countries on five continents generally agree with the idea that "each country should choose a model of democracy and modernization that suits its national conditions," with an approval rate of 94.3 percent.

Xing Bo, vice president of China Media Group (CMG), noted that some in the U.S. style their country as the "beacon of democracy." However, incidents, such as the toxic train derailment in Ohio, child labor and police violence against African Americans, show that the U.S. is deviating from democracy.

Calling for breaking the hegemony of Western discourse and providing more positive energy for global governance, Xing said CMG is open to mutual learning and walking hand in hand with friends from other countries to spread democracy as an important achievement of human political civilization.

The forum offers a platform for all countries to share their thoughts, experiences and practices related to democracy, rather than touting a one-size-fits-all model of democracy.