Chinese officials took the anniversary of the violence at the U.S. Capitol as an occasion to extol the communist system of governance as an alternative “path to democracy,” in a potential portent of Beijing’s public diplomacy.

“The storming of the Capitol Hill one year ago shocked the world and set people thinking,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday. “No democracy is superior to others and no democratic model fits all scenarios. The exploration of a path to democracy by a country’s people in light of national realities is the only right way to achieve and develop democracy.”

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