Zhang Weiwei critiques Western political models and European leadership

Zhang Weiwei, a prominent international relations professor at Fudan University and director of the China Institute, has presented a critical view of Western political models during an event organized by the Berggruen Institute.

Central to Zhang’s argument is the concept of the ‘civilizational state.’ He posits that China should not be judged by Western standards such as liberal democracy, multiparty systems, or electoral alternation. Instead, he views China as a unique entity that combines a massive modern administrative state with a political civilization spanning millennia.

Zhang traces this continuity back to the unification of China in 221 BC, noting that the tradition of selecting officials through imperial examinations has shaped a leadership characterized by administrative competence and long-term vision. He argues that these historical roots provide a basis for a political system that operates outside the universal metrics typically applied by the Euro-Atlantic world.