‘China Model’ Aims for Prosperity Without Democracy

When China began allowing private businesses and foreign investment four decades ago, many outside the communist country expected that as its economy became more capitalist, its politics also would become more democratic. They didn’t. Instead, the Chinese system, which puts stability and cohesion ahead of individual freedoms, became adept at delivering prosperity, with the Communist Party still firmly in control. For Beijing, its success legitimizes its model as an alternative to the liberal values of the West, an idea the U.S. and its allies have resisted. It’s a debate that plays out on a variety of fronts, from combating the Covid-19 pandemic to reining in Big Tech.

One consequence of China’s transformation from a country struggling to feed its 1 billion people into a nascent superpower has been a growing rivalry with the U.S., fueled by suspicion in Washington that the Chinese aim to supplant American hegemony, and fear in China that its rise could be stymied. Flash points are numerous. The U.S. has banned telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. from installing 5G mobile network gear, calling it a national security threat, and is restricting access to its capital markets. China cited national security as it imposed a new law on Hong Kong to squash a pro-democracy movement that it accuses the U.S. of fomenting. Washington has condemned the mass detention of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim ethnic group in western China; leaders in Beijing say it’s done to fight terrorism. The coronavirus has engendered rancor as well. China has brandished its relatively low infection and mortality numbers as evidence of how a strong central authority can better navigate crisis. The U.S., citing Beijing’s aversion to free speech, has accused China of stifling early warning signs and thereby squandering the chance to contain it, as well as hindering the search for the origin of the virus.