China rejects US call for democracy
23 September 2005
China rejected a US call to adopt democracy, told Washington to respect its political path and bristled at warnings of punitive measures for its huge trade surplus with the United States, the AP reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he had "taken note" of US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick's comments that China's one-party system was unsustainable - the most vocal call to date by the Bush administration for political change in China, where the Communist Party will mark the anniversary of its 56th year in power on October 1. In the same breath, Qin said communism had brought substantial benefits to Chinese citizens.