China should break free from Western “discourse traps” over issues such as state subsidies, democracy and the global order to challenge “double standards” about its rise, a former official policy adviser has urged.
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Ding Yifan, a former deputy director of the Institute of World Development, a government think tank, also said many Chinese scholars were reluctant to argue that the Communist Party had played a key role in China’s “remarkable” development because of criticisms it was autocratic.
But he told an event at Fudan University in Shanghai last week they should be “confident” in defending the party’s rule.
“However, the interpretation of these achievements by Western media and public opinion stands in sharp contrast to ours. Consequently, whenever confronted with Western provocations, we often find ourselves prone to intense resistance and fighting back.”
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That approach was not only unlikely to convince Western societies but also risked a backlash among Global South countries, he warned.
