Wang Hongshu and Fu Lirong: On the Uniqueness of the People's Political Consultative Conference's Practice of the People-Centered Development Philosophy
The people are the source of strength for the Party’s governance and administration, and the people’s happiness is the goal for which the Party strives in its governance and national rejuvenation. In the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has integrated the Marxist theory of the people’s subjectivity with contemporary Chinese reality, deepened the Party’s fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly, and creatively proposed the philosophy of people-centered development. This philosophy takes "people-centeredness" as its basic orientation, forming a logical system of “one fundamental standpoint, two basic driving forces, and one ultimate goal”—taking the masses as the fundamental standpoint, the full satisfaction of the people’s interests and the effective exercise of the people’s role as the basic driving forces, and the people’s satisfaction as the ultimate goal. It serves as an important guidance for the CPC’s governance for the people in the New Era. In March 2018, the Work Report of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference pointed out: “We must adhere to the people-centered approach, ensure the CPPCC serves the people, and take the better satisfaction of the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life as the starting point and goal of all CPPCC work.” In September 2019, at the Central Conference on CPPCC Work and the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Xi Jinping further clarified the work requirements for the CPPCC to serve the people, namely: “The CPPCC should take the continuous satisfaction of the people’s needs for a better life and the promotion of livelihood improvement as important points of focus; it should listen to the voices of the masses, reflect their desires, focus on practical issues in the field of people’s livelihoods, and assist the Party and the government in enhancing the people’s well-being.” This is also an inevitable requirement for the CPPCC to practice the philosophy of people-centered development. We must delve deeply into the functional positioning and unique advantages of the CPPCC in practicing the philosophy of people-centered development, systematically analyze the performance requirements proposed for the CPPCC by this philosophy in the New Era, and precisely grasp the mechanisms through which the CPPCC practices it. This provides a useful reference for implementing the philosophy of people-centered development concretely and realistically within the practice of Chinese-path modernization.
I. The Functional Positioning of the CPPCC in Practicing the Philosophy of People-Centered Development
The philosophy of people-centered development is a core component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the basic guidance for all work in the New Era. As an institutional arrangement with Chinese characteristics, the CPPCC shoulders the responsibility and mission of practicing this philosophy. We must analyze the functional positioning of the CPPCC in this regard from multiple perspectives to lay a solid cognitive foundation for its deep practice of the people-centered development philosophy.
(i) From the perspective of top-level design, the CPPCC is an important platform for practicing the philosophy of people-centered development
As a unique institutional arrangement of people’s democracy, the CPPCC effectively promotes the people as masters of the country [1] and serves as an important platform for practicing the philosophy of people-centered development. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has issued a series of institutional documents on strengthening and improving the work of the CPPCC, integrating it into the broader framework of China’s democratic political construction, the development of whole-process people’s democracy, and the national governance system. This provides the value orientation, policy support, normative basis, and political guarantee for the CPPCC to practice the philosophy of people-centered development in the New Era.
As an important form of China's new model of political party system [2], the CPPCC, together with the National People's Congress (NPC), constitutes an important political institutional arrangement for the deep advancement of people’s democracy. “People’s democracy is a type of whole-process democracy.” Whole-process people’s democracy was created in response to the transformation of the principal contradiction [3] in Chinese society in the New Era. Whole-process people’s democracy respects the subjective status of the people; its “essence is to ensure, through an institutional system of the people as masters of the country, that the people truly become the masters of the state, society, and their own destiny.” Therefore, whole-process people’s democracy is a high-quality form of people’s democracy that aligns with the pro-people essence of the philosophy of people-centered development and represents a new interpretation of it. As an institutional arrangement with Chinese characteristics, the CPPCC shares the same roots and origins as consultative democracy. It satisfies the demands of diverse subjects through extensive channels of consultative participation and strives to reach democratic consensus, effectively guaranteeing that the people are the masters of the country. It is an important institutional platform for upholding and developing whole-process people’s democracy. In specific practice, the CPPCC pools public opinion and wisdom by building specialized consultative platforms, respects and responds to the demands and feedback of the masses, and makes the people’s political participation more rational and standardized. It truly embodies the character and qualities of being "for the people, relying on the people, and serving the people," and constitutes a political community that is both popular (in the sense of the people) and professional. Consequently, the CPPCC and the philosophy of people-centered development achieve a closer logical connection through whole-process people’s democracy; the CPPCC has inherently become an important platform for practicing this philosophy in the process of implementing people’s democracy.
(ii) From the perspective of its nature and positioning, the CPPCC carries the important mission of practicing the philosophy of people-centered development
In the New Era, the CPPCC has upheld the fundamentals and broken new ground regarding its nature and positioning, consistently integrating the philosophy of people-centered development into all aspects of its work. “To do the work of the CPPCC well, we must adhere to its nature and positioning.” This is because the nature and positioning of the CPPCC determine its role and mission in the development of China’s socialist democratic politics, as well as its mode of performing duties and its developmental direction. For over 70 years, the CPPCC has continuously advanced with the times, serving the central tasks of the Party and the state. The core of its work lies in reflecting public opinion, pooling public wisdom, and building public consensus, shouldering the historical responsibility of embodying and implementing the philosophy of people-centered development.
First, as an organization of the united front, the CPPCC possesses broad representation and inclusiveness, bearing the political responsibility of coalescing the wisdom and strength of all Chinese people at home and abroad. Compounding all forces that can be united, seeking the greatest common denominator, and drawing the largest possible concentric circles [4] to form a powerful social synergy—this is the fundamental value orientation of "serving the people" that the CPPCC has consistently maintained as a united front organization.
Second, as an institution for multi-party cooperation and political consultation, the CPPCC maintains its original aspiration of serving the people. Unlike political parties in Western countries that emerged to operate parliamentary democracy, China’s various non-communist parties [5] grew and developed during the struggle for democracy and against feudal autocracy. Their purpose is to promote scientific and democratic decision-making by actively fulfilling the functions of political consultation, democratic supervision, and participation in and deliberation of state affairs, sincerely serving the people and contributing to the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Third, as an important form of realizing people’s democracy, the CPPCC ensures that the people’s right to be masters of the country is realized. Unlike the electoral democracy of Western countries, consultative democracy emphasizes allowing the people to participate extensively, continuously, and deeply in the policy-making process through multiple consultative channels and forms, safeguarding the people’s right to be informed, right to expression, right to participation, and right to supervision, thereby embodying the spiritual essence of the people as masters of the country. As an important component of the national governance system, the CPPCC assists the Party and the government in enhancing the people’s well-being. This positioning integrates the CPPCC with national governance, entrusting it with the responsibility and mission to assist the Party and government in livelihood projects. It aims to effectively integrate the demands and wisdom of all social strata and sectors (jiebie) into national decision-making through the CPPCC’s organizational advantages, making active contributions to the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.
Finally, as an institutional arrangement with Chinese characteristics, the CPPCC highlights the pro-people value orientation of Chinese-path democracy. Compared to the representative democracy of Western countries, “the CPPCC is rooted in Chinese history and culture, emerged from the great struggle of the Chinese people’s revolution in modern times, and developed through the glorious practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” It is a democratic mode that better suits China’s national conditions. Through its unique consultative democracy model and operating methods, the CPPCC listens to public opinion, seeks consensus, and resolves conflicts. This not only embodies the inclusive political wisdom of the Chinese nation but also reflects the developmental requirements of China’s socialist democratic politics, representing an institutional arrangement that more prominently features the pro-people value orientation of Chinese-path democracy.
In conclusion, the nature and positioning of the CPPCC in the New Era determine its natural and inseparable connection with the people, as well as its necessity to carry out work centered on the will and requirements of the masses, shouldering the responsibility and mission of practicing the philosophy of people-centered development.
(iii) From the perspective of performance effectiveness, the CPPCC demonstrates the value essence of the philosophy of people-centered development
In the New Era, the CPPCC has been diligent in consultation, courageous in supervision, and adept at offering suggestions. It has integrated the "CPPCC for the people" value concept into the entire process, field, and scope of its work. It has achieved practical results in pooling public wisdom, facilitating public opinion, and resolving public concerns, demonstrating the pro-people value of the philosophy of people-centered development.
First, political consultation is the primary function of the CPPCC. In the process of fulfilling this function, the CPPCC effectively ensures the institutionalization of the people's political participation. In 2023, the National Committee of the CPPCC held "94 consultative activities of various types, attended by a total of 5,087 people, with 1,602 speaking"; Yunnan Province "conducted 983 'courtyard consultations' [6], helping to resolve over 2,800 specific problems"; and Liaoning Province "organized 7,021 consultative activities and 2,270 policy briefings throughout the year, helping to solve 4,015 practical livelihood issues." The conduct of these consultative activities ensures that groups from all walks of life enjoy equal rights to speak and suggest, thereby transforming spontaneous, non-institutionalized social participation into organized, institutionalized political participation. This reflects public opinion and alleviates public concerns to the greatest extent possible, making the CPPCC's role in guaranteeing the people's status as masters of the country through an institutional system increasingly prominent. Second, democratic supervision is an effective way to safeguard the interests of the broad masses of the people. The CPPCC gives full play to its advantages in consultation and supervision. Through offering suggestions and criticisms, it supervises the implementation of national laws, regulations, and policies, as well as government work. It focuses on the "immediate and pressing" problems [7] of the masses, ensuring that the policy-making and execution processes truly embody the people's will, thereby achieving the goal of "monitoring the right spots and supervising the key points." Third, participation in and deliberation of state affairs is the basic process for promoting the realization of the people’s interests. In light of a profound analysis of the transformation of the principal contradiction in Chinese society in the New Era, the CPPCC has taken the initiative to respond to the people’s contemporary needs. Through inspections, surveys, proposals, and suggestions, it seeks to benefit and relieve the people's livelihoods. Looking back at 2023, the Chengdu Municipal CPPCC "implemented 63 key consultative surveys, submitted 1,108 proposals (with 886 filed), and collected 2,980 pieces of information on public sentiment (reporting 1,558 and having 302 adopted)"; the Shanghai Municipal CPPCC "organized over 170 survey and inspection activities, reported 25 survey reports, submitted 1,080 proposals (with 992 filed and 971 settled)." Thanks to solid primary-level research and extensive listening to public opinion, these survey reports and proposals precisely addressed public demands, effectively avoiding the problem of proposals being detached from the masses and reality. This ensured the relevance and feasibility of the proposals and suggestions, thereby more appropriately empowering and serving the people. It is evident that the fulfillment of the function of participation in and deliberation of state affairs builds a bridge between the masses and state power, ensuring that the formulation and implementation of various policies always serve the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people. Therefore, it is regarded as the basic process for promoting the realization of the people's interests.
The philosophy of people-centered development requires always putting the people’s interests first, adhering to the people’s subjective status, and “insisting that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people.” In the process of performing its duties, the CPPCC guarantees the people's status as masters of the country through institutionalized political participation, safeguards the interests of the broad masses through democratic supervision, and promotes the realization of the people’s interests through participation in and deliberation of state affairs. This aligns with the core connotation of the philosophy of people-centered development and is a true reflection of the pro-people value of this philosophy.
II. The Performance Requirements for the CPPCC in Practicing the Philosophy of People-Centered Development
The philosophy of people-centered development is a major theoretical innovation made by the Party Central Committee in view of the transformation of the principal contradiction in Chinese society in the New Era. It puts forward a series of new requirements for the work of the CPPCC. If the CPPCC is to show new responsibility and accomplishments in the New Era, it must engrave these performance requirements in its heart and implement them in its actions, integrating the philosophy of people-centered development throughout the entire process of its performance of duties.
(i) Clarify "for whom" and stand firm on the fundamental standpoint that development is for the people
One's stance is the fundamental starting point for understanding and handling all matters. The People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) comes from the people and is rooted in the people; its performance of duties must consistently maintain a firm and fundamental stance of "development for the people." "The question of 'for whom' and 'relying on whom' is the touchstone for testing the nature of a political party and a regime" [8]. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has inscribed serving the people and seeking benefits for the people on its banner of struggle, clearly answering the question of "for whom." The CPC’s philosophy of people-centered development emphasizes that development is for the people; it insists on placing the people at the highest position in one’s heart, safeguarding the fundamental interests of the masses, and responding to the practical issues they care about, vividly reflecting the fundamental stance of the CPC.
As a political organization under the leadership of the CPC, the CPPCC is an important front for implementing the Party’s various tasks and an important platform for arming representative figures from all walks of life with the Party’s innovative theories. This requires the CPPCC to unwaveringly practice the philosophy of people-centered development, clarify its service targets and value orientation during the process of performing its duties, stand firm in the fundamental stance of development for the people, and safeguard the fundamental interests of the masses. The CPPCC must grasp the general direction of deliberative politics [9], conducting high-quality consultative activities around issues concerning the immediate interests of the masses—such as education, healthcare, and employment—and carrying out investigations and research on major issues affecting the people's aspirations for a better life. It must gather the wisdom and will of the people, truly "going out and bringing back" [10], ensuring that it deliberates with the people and for the people. The CPPCC’s proposals and suggestions must serve the people and respond to the practical issues they care about. Difficulties in employment, rising housing prices, and the high cost of medical treatment are the practical problems the masses care about most; the degree to which these issues are resolved relates to the masses' level of satisfaction with the CPPCC’s performance. This requires the CPPCC to focus its suggestions on the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" problems of the masses [11], opening up channels for speech and talent, and providing constructive opinions to the Party and government in the form of proposals and recommendations to solve the people's practical difficulties, truly achieving "speaking for the people and planning for the people."
(2) Clarifying "whom to rely on" to aggregate the subjective power of development relying on the people
The people are the fundamental force driving development. In practicing the people-centered development philosophy, the CPPCC must focus on the methodology of development based on clarifying the starting point and ultimate goal of development, taking the extensive building of consensus as the central link in its performance of duties. "The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the Party and the country." Starting from the materialist conception of history, the philosophy of people-centered development answers the question of the fundamental driving force for our social development: namely, that development relies on the people. Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy means giving play to the people’s pioneering spirit on the basis of affirming their subjective status, drawing on their wisdom, aggregating their strength, maintaining close ties with them, and always believing in and relying on the people to create great historical undertakings.
The CPPCC is neither an organ of power nor an organ of decision-making, but a specialized consultative body. Building consensus and aggregating strength are the core functions of the CPPCC. This requires that, in the process of practicing the people-centered development philosophy, the CPPCC aggregates the subjective power of the people and transforms the people-centered development philosophy into a common ideological foundation for unity and struggle. Specifically: first, political consultation must value the people and respect their subjective status. Consultative democracy is the essence of people’s democracy; the CPPCC must respect the status of the people as the subjects of practice and consultation, unite people from all sectors of society, and extensively listen to the opinions and suggestions of the masses before and during the implementation of decisions, thereby promoting democracy, increasing unity, and facilitating scientific and democratic decision-making. Second, democratic supervision must rely on the people to stimulate their sense of ownership. The people are the masters of the country and society; the CPPCC must stimulate this sense of ownership through measures such as smoothing supervision channels and improving supervision mechanisms, mobilizing the people’s enthusiasm and initiative to participate in the management of state affairs, and uniting the people to prevent the abuse of power and ensure social fairness and justice. Third, the deliberation and administration of state affairs must go deep among the masses to draw upon their wisdom. The masses are the subjects of social practice and possess rich wisdom; in carrying out investigations and reflecting social conditions and public opinion, the CPPCC "must consciously take the people as teachers, seek guidance from the capable, and ask for strategies from the wise" [12].
(3) Understanding "who shares" by adhering to the value orientation that development fruits are shared by the people
The sharing of development fruits by the people is the essential manifestation of socialism. As an important form of promoting socialist democracy and practicing whole-process people's democracy, the CPPCC must adhere to the value orientation of sharing development fruits with the people while performing its duties. Western capitalist countries advocate a development philosophy that stresses development while neglecting distribution, encouraging economic privatization; this results in the majority of development fruits being held by a minority, leading to an increasing gap between rich and poor and a constant stream of social contradictions. In contrast, China has always taken "eliminating exploitation, eliminating polarization, and ultimately achieving common prosperity" as its development goal, emphasizing not only making the "cake" of economic and social development bigger but also dividing the "cake" well, focusing on maintaining social fairness and justice, and highlighting the socialist essence of development fruits being shared by the people.
As an important form of promoting socialist democracy, the CPPCC plays a vital role in resolving contradictions, building consensus, and promoting social peace and stability. This requires the CPPCC to fully consider the fairness of policy design and resource allocation when participating in consultations regarding the formulation of major national policies, economic and social development plans, and other important matters, so as to protect the rights and interests of the people and ensure that various policies and reform fruits benefit the broad masses. At the same time, the CPPCC should use consultation to give play to its role in coordinating relations and resolving contradictions. For issues involving social fairness and justice, it should seek the "greatest common denominator" through consultative dialogue to build consensus and promote social harmony and stability. In fulfilling its democratic supervision function, it should focus on supervising the implementation of policies and measures that maintain social fairness and justice and enhance people's well-being, ensuring the fairness and transparency of public policies and resource allocation, cracking down on corruption and privilege, dividing the "cake" well, and ensuring that development fruits can truly be shared by all the people. In fulfilling its function of deliberating and administering state affairs, it should guide all sectors of society to express their demands in an orderly manner, extensively listen to and aggregate the interests and wisdom of various social strata and groups on important issues concerning people's well-being, and put forward constructive opinions to provide a strong foundation for public opinion in maintaining social fairness and justice.
(4) Realizing "who evaluates" by implementing the testing standard that development effectiveness is judged by the people
The people are not only the subjects of value, practice, and sharing in development, but also the subjects of evaluation. As an institution for multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, the CPPCC must take the implementation of the testing standard—that development effectiveness is judged by the people—as an important guideline for its work. "The times are the paper-setter, we are the examinees, and the people are the examiners" [13]. Xi Jinping placed the question of development evaluation within historical materialism, clearly answering who evaluates the effectiveness of development. As the direct beneficiaries of development, the people have the clearest and most authentic perception of its effectiveness; they should naturally be the subjects who test and judge it. The people-centered development philosophy takes the masses as the subjects of evaluation, the degree of realization of people's interests as the highest standard for testing effectiveness, the people’s evaluation as the main basis for measuring effectiveness, and the people's sense of gain as the fundamental scale for evaluating effectiveness.
The CPPCC comes from, is rooted in, and serves the people; it is the spokesperson reflecting the people's interests and demands, an important channel for feeding back the people's evaluation of development effectiveness, and the supervising party for enhancing the people's sense of gain. This requires the CPPCC to improve the quality and effectiveness of political consultation, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, and ensure that consultative topics closely follow the needs and expectations of the masses, fully reflecting public opinion and concentrating the wisdom of the people. It must strengthen democratic supervision around the "hotspot" and "difficult" issues that the masses generally care about, ensuring that national policies and decision-making deployments are effectively implemented to practically enhance people's livelihoods and their sense of gain. It must carry out in-depth research and feed back the people's evaluations, needs, and expectations to the Party and government in a timely and accurate manner through proposals and other methods, ensuring that the people's evaluation can directly reach the decision-making level to adjust and improve relevant policies. This ensures that the effectiveness of economic and social development can stand the test of practice, the people, and history, and ensures that the power to judge development effectiveness is truly held in the hands of the people.
III. The Unique Advantages of the CPPCC in Practicing the People-Centered Development Philosophy
An advantage is a favorable factor and developmental trend with inherent uniqueness that distinguishes one thing from another. The CPPCC is the product of the CPC’s integration of Marxist-Leninist united front theory, party theory, and socialist democratic political theory with China’s specific conditions. This determines that the CPPCC possesses unique advantages in practicing the people-centered development philosophy that differ from those of other practicing subjects.
(1) Political advantage: Adhering to Party leadership by practicing the Party's mass line
Adhering to the leadership of the Party and adhering to a people-centered approach are highly consistent in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics: without the strong leadership of the Party, "seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation" would become an empty phrase; if the Party were to deviate from the fundamental people-centered stance, the cause led by the Party would lose its source of strength. In other words, adhering to the people-centered development philosophy requires the political guarantee of Party leadership; strengthening Party leadership requires standing firm in the fundamental people-centered stance and following the mass line—the Party's fundamental working line.
The Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee pointed out: "Consultative democracy is a unique form and distinctive advantage of China's socialist democratic politics, and is an important manifestation of the Party's mass line in the political sphere." As an important channel and specialized consultative body for consultative democracy, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) possesses the distinct characteristics of strong inclusivity and a broad reach in its social connections, thereby becoming an important vehicle for implementing the Party's mass line. On the one hand, the CPPCC’s strong inclusivity enables it to consolidate consensus and aggregate public opinion, which helps improve the democratic and scientific nature of the Party's decision-making. As society continues to develop, the interest demands of different groups have become increasingly diverse and complex. This requires the Party's mass line to balance the interests of various groups, smooth the channels for expressing these interests, and pool the wisdom and will of the people. The CPPCC adheres to the two major themes of unity and democracy, always upholding the value of "harmony without uniformity" [14], and possesses a very distinct inclusivity. The CPPCC can not only aggregate different interest groups for exchange and consultation—thereby coordinating relations and resolving conflicts—but can also transform the individual and scattered demands and voices of different interest groups into systematic and concentrated opinions. It then reflects these opinions to the Party and the government, ensuring smooth channels for all interest groups to express their demands, so that the Party and government can make decisions that align with the people's will based on an understanding of the conditions and sentiments of the masses. For example, the Guangzhou Municipal CPPCC organized multiple consultative meetings involving CPPCC members, government officials, resident representatives, and experts regarding the difficulties of renovating old residential communities. Through consultation and exchange, they reached a consensus and organized the results into proposals submitted to the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. This directly facilitated the optimization of renovation policies for old residential areas in Guangzhou and addressed the urgent needs of residents. Similarly, regarding the issue of disorganized parking of shared bicycles, the Chengdu Municipal CPPCC convened consultative meetings with representatives from various sectors and proposed a comprehensive solution including the use of electronic fencing technology and enhanced user education. The results were reported to the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, leading to the introduction of refined management policies for shared bicycles and improving public satisfaction. On the other hand, the CPPCC has a broad reach in its social connections and is a natural organization for connecting with people from all sectors, which helps consolidate the Party's mass base. The CPPCC is composed of 34 sectors [15], covering representative figures from all walks of life. Members from various sectors publicize the Party's line, principles, and policies while going deep among and connecting with the masses, assisting the Party and government in clarifying doubts, explaining policies, and smoothing public emotions. This not only helps turn the Party's propositions into the consensus of all social sectors but also helps implement the Party's decisions and deployments within various sector groups, thereby consolidating the Party's mass base. For example, the CPPCC of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has taken the forging of a sense of community for the Chinese nation [16] as the main thread of its various tasks. "CPPCC organizations at all levels across the region have established more than 680 education and training bases for CPPCC members to forge a sense of community for the Chinese nation, and members have conducted more than 1,100 presentations deep within the grassroots and among the masses of their respective sectors." These presentations have not only deepened the people's understanding and identification with the sense of community for the Chinese nation but also effectively prevented and resolved ethnic conflicts, maintaining social stability.
In short, the CPPCC's role in enhancing the democratic and scientific nature of the Party's decision-making and its role in consolidating the Party's mass base embody the Party's mass line. This is an important manifestation of the CPPCC upholding the Party's leadership by practicing the Party's mass line, highlighting the CPPCC’s unique political advantage in practicing the people-centered development philosophy.
(2) Institutional Advantage: Guaranteeing that the People are Masters of the Country through Multiparity Cooperation
Guaranteeing that the people are masters of the country is the core requirement for practicing the people-centered development philosophy. As a specialized institution for multiparty cooperation and political consultation, the CPPCC carries the advantages of the new type of party system [17] and guarantees the people's status as political subjects through institutionalized practice. Practicing the people-centered development philosophy requires not only scientific ideological theories but also a systematic political system to guarantee that the people are masters of the country. Through long-term historical practice, the CPC has explored and established a system of democratic politics suited to its own conditions, including the fundamental political system of the People's Congress system and basic political systems such as the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation.
First, the CPPCC is an important platform for multiparty cooperation, capable of maintaining the fundamental interests of the broadest masses by constructing a new type of party relationship characterized by unity and harmony. By building an institutionalized consultative platform, the CPPCC incorporates all democratic parties and persons without party affiliation into the political process. This reveals the essential difference between China's party system and the competitive party systems of Western countries, "effectively avoiding the flaws of a lack of supervision under a single-party system or the vicious competition of multiple parties taking turns in power," and promoting the institutionalization of harmonious inter-party relations. Under this harmonious relationship, the CPPCC guarantees that all democratic parties perform their duties through institutionalized, standardized, and procedural work, building consensus through consultation and promoting scientific and democratic decision-making. This "effectively avoids the flaws of the old-style party system that represents only a few people or minority interest groups," thus maintaining the fundamental interests of the broadest masses.
Second, the CPPCC is an important organizational vehicle for political consultation, ensuring the wide and effective participation of the people in national political life. As a specialized consultative body, the CPPCC carries out regularized and institutionalized political consultation, integrating consultative democracy throughout the entire process of performing its duties. This allows consultative democracy and the electoral democracy of the People's Congresses to complement and coordinate with each other. This not only protects the people's rights at the time of voting but also facilitates extensive, equal, and orderly consultation among people from all walks of life on major national policies and important affairs. It guarantees the people’s right to continuous participation in daily political life, thereby effectively overcoming the flaws of formalistic democracy in some Western countries where "the people are awakened only at the time of voting and go into hibernation right after." It truly implements the principle of the people being masters of the country concretely and realistically in national political life.
(3) Organizational Advantage: Consolidating the Broadest Public Support through the United Front
The core driving force for practicing the people-centered development philosophy is the cohesive power of the masses. As an organization of the patriotic united front, the CPPCC possesses the organizational advantages and characteristics of the united front, enabling it to consolidate hearts and pool strength to the greatest extent. The CPPCC's organizational advantage is reflected in its unique political organizational functions.
Firstly, the CPPCC has a subjective advantage, capable of forming a situation of great unity and grand alliance. The internal structure of the CPPCC differs from the parliaments of Western countries; its sector settings cover 9 political parties (including the CPC), 56 ethnic groups, and 5 major religions. CPPCC members come from various parties, organizations, and ethnic groups, encompassing all social strata and various types of political actors. This unique structure allows it to give full play to the unique advantage of the united front—mobilizing all positive factors and aggregating all positive forces to the maximum extent. It provides a venue for various parties and strata to voice their opinions in the name of their organizations, promotes harmony in inter-party, ethnic, and religious relations, and ensures that various social strata and groups are closely rallied around the CPC, creating a situation of great unity and grand alliance.
Secondly, the CPPCC has an advantage in the content of its consultations, enabling the organic combination of promoting democracy and strengthening unity. The composition of the CPPCC’s subjects determines that its consultative content must have broad representation and immense inclusivity, covering multiple fields such as economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization, and accommodating the diverse interest demands of different social groups. Members of the CPPCC conduct extensive consultations on major national policies and important issues of public concern, seeking common ground while reserving differences. They lead diversity with consistency and promote consistency through diversity, which both fully promotes democracy and consolidates the common ideological foundation, thereby ensuring that the thoughts, goals, and actions of all social forces are aligned. Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy essentially means uniting and mobilizing all people to participate in all undertakings of national construction by consolidating the broadest public support, making policy formulation and implementation more aligned with public will, and allowing development achievements to benefit all people more fairly, thereby maintaining social harmony and stability. With the organizational advantages of the united front it carries, the CPPCC consolidates the broadest public support, unites social forces from all sectors to the maximum extent, and effectively practices the people-centered development philosophy.
(4) Platform Advantage: Deepening the Foundation of Public Will through Consultative Platforms
Deepening the foundation of public will is a concrete manifestation and inevitable requirement for practicing the people-centered development philosophy. As a specialized consultative body for socialist consultative democracy, the CPPCC can continuously consolidate and develop the mass and social foundations of the Party's governance through its multi-level and wide-coverage consultative platforms.
From a vertical perspective, the CPPCC has established a system of vertically linked consultative platforms from the central to the local levels. Higher-level CPPCC bodies guide and support the work of lower-level ones, while lower-level bodies report consultative results and reflect social conditions and public opinion stage by stage. At the same time, CPPCC bodies at all levels actively extend consultative democracy to the grassroots. By establishing member contact points, workstations, and studios, they promote the effective connection between CPPCC consultation and grassroots consultation, allowing CPPCC work to penetrate deep into sub-districts, communities, and villages to effectively solve the "hot-button" and difficult issues of concern to the masses. For example, Sichuan Province created a characteristic brand platform for consultative democracy called "Consultation for Matters of Concern" (有事来协商), following the logic of "focused topics, available venues, participating subjects, and productive results." It built a four-tier platform network in Neijiang City (city, county, town/sub-district, and village/community), and a three-tier consultative platform in Yibin City including "Consultation for Major Matters," "Special Consultation for Specialized Matters," and "Public Consultation for General Matters." Relying on this series of platforms, in 2023, Sichuan Province "conducted more than 9,600 various micro-consultation activities, helped resolve 21,000 livelihood issues... winning recognition from the Party and government, welcome from the masses, and praise from society."
From a horizontal perspective, the CPPCC has established various forms of consultative platforms within itself, including plenary sessions, standing committee meetings, and special consultative conferences. These guarantee communication and consultation between CPPCC members and various democratic parties, organizations, ethnic and religious circles, and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Simultaneously, it establishes consultative platforms in various fields such as economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization to reflect broad social sentiments and improve people's well-being. This network of crisscrossing, multi-dimensional, and pluralistic consultative platforms adapted to the diverse consultative needs of different levels and fields has realized the transformation of consultative discourse from "tangible coverage" to "effective coverage." It has deepened the "flesh-and-blood ties" between the Party and the masses and thickened the Party's foundation of public will. The process of deepening the Party's foundation of public will is essentially the process of continuously meeting the people's growing needs for a better life and the process of practicing the people-centered development philosophy.
IV. The Implementation Mechanisms for the CPPCC to Practice the People-Centered Development Philosophy
Adhering to the people-centered approach and ensuring the "CPPCC for the people" are the concepts that the CPPCC must always follow in performing its duties. To translate this concept into scientific and effective institutional arrangements and concrete, realistic democratic practices, the CPPCC needs to take the people-centered development philosophy as its value pursuit and practical orientation. It must focus on better meeting the people's growing needs for a better life and promoting the improvement of people's livelihoods as an important point of exertion. It must emphasize the unity of theory and practice, and form and content, finding the correct institutional mechanisms and methods.
(1) Improving the Guiding and Guarantee Mechanism to Ensure the Correct Political Direction of the "CPPCC for the People"
Improving the CPPCC's guiding and guarantee mechanism to ensure that the CPPCC always adheres to the people-centered political direction in its operational practice, and guaranteeing the people's full participation in national political life and social governance through effective institutionalized arrangements, is an indispensable and important part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.
On the one hand, strengthening the leadership of the Party is the key to improving the mechanisms for guidance and security. "In order to draw the largest concentric circles, the People’s Consultative Conference must first firmly fix the center: only when the center is secure can the concentric circles be drawn larger and larger without deviation. This 'center' is the leadership of the Communist Party of China." [18] "The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics." As a political community under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), all activities of the People’s Consultative Conference (PCC) must adhere to the Party's leadership. The people-centered development philosophy is a profound manifestation of the CPC's fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly within the realm of development concepts. In the process of practicing the people-centered development philosophy, the PCC can only integrate service for the people throughout the entire process of political consultation, democratic supervision, and participation in and deliberation of state affairs by adhering to the Party's leadership. Only then can it focus its consultative topics on the Party's center of gravity in its work, thereby ensuring that the PCC's work remains highly consistent with the Party's line, principles, and policies, finding the "greatest common denominator" of the people's will and demands, and better safeguarding the fundamental interests of the broad masses.
On the other hand, improving relevant laws and regulations is also an important link in perfecting the mechanisms for guidance and security. At the level of top-level design, the construction of socialist democratic politics, including the PCC, should be incorporated into the track of the rule of law. This will realize the institutionalized, standardized, and law-based operation of the PCC, providing strong legal guarantees and support for its work, ensuring that it performs its duties in accordance with the law, and protects the legitimate rights and interests of the masses. In addition, it is necessary to establish and improve work mechanisms and systems, including perfecting the mechanisms of consultative democracy, broadening channels for participation, and innovating working methods. Refined technical standards and work mechanisms can better enhance the effectiveness and service level of the PCC, expand the scope of citizen participation in decision-making, promote the democratization and scientific rigor of Party and government decision-making, and effectively calibrate the political direction of the "People's Consultative Conference for the people."
(2) Improving mechanisms for coordinated participation to clear the consultative channels for the "People's Consultative Conference for the people"
The integration and coordination of multiple consultative channels is a necessary requirement for guaranteeing the participation of the masses in political life and implementing the principle of the "People's Consultative Conference for the people." "Socialist consultative democracy should be substantive rather than for show; it should be all-encompassing rather than limited to a certain aspect; and it should be practiced throughout the country from top to bottom rather than restricted to a specific level." As an important channel for consultative democracy and a specialized consultative body, the PCC must improve multi-level and multi-dimensional mechanisms for coordinated participation that connect vertically and link horizontally. It must promote not only internal communication within the PCC system but also the organic connection between the PCC and the consultative channels of other institutions, thereby ensuring the orderly political participation of the masses.
On the one hand, the mechanism for vertical coordination within the PCC must be improved. Improving this mechanism primarily involves realizing top-to-bottom linkage between different levels of the PCC through institutional design and practical operation within the system. Higher-level committees guide lower-level ones, and the consultative results and suggestions formed by lower-level committees can be reported upward through the coordination mechanism to be included in the decision-making procedures of higher-level committees or even higher tiers of government. This is a model of vertical collaborative linkage. Use of this model leverages the collective strength of vertical coordination involving two or more levels of the PCC. It is conducive not only to making up for shortcomings in the performance of duties at a particular level but also to addressing imbalances and lack of coordination in the performance of duties by primary-level committees. In the process of improving this mechanism, emphasis should be placed on connecting with primary-level consultative mechanisms. Because primary-level consultation possesses the unique characteristic of direct dialogue with the masses, it has an irreplaceable advantage in expanding the political participation of grassroots people, extending the "tentacles" of consultation, and understanding public sentiment. It is the key to clearing the "last mile" [19] of consultative democracy.
On the other hand, the mechanism for internal-external coordination of the PCC must be improved. The PCC must form a consultative pattern that combines internal and external elements, activating internal vitality while actively introducing external impetus. It must focus not only on collaboration and interaction within the PCC system but also emphasize close ties with all sectors of society. Internal coordination within the PCC system involves cross-regional, cross-departmental, and cross-industry linkage, such as the collaborative work between the various political parties, groups, and members within the PCC. External coordination mechanisms aim to interface with Party and government organs, enterprises, public institutions, and the broad masses. By linking topics, conducting joint research, coordinating consultations, and sharing results, they broadly gather wisdom from all parties to form a collaborative force. Consequently, by constructing a mechanism for coordinated participation that connects top and bottom and combines internal and external efforts, the PCC forms a consultative participation pattern where different channels are organically linked. This is conducive to expanding the breadth and depth of consultation, reducing "blind spots" and "dead zones," and achieving the synergistic effect of composite consultation, thereby better listening to the voice of the people, gathering their wisdom, and safeguarding their interests.
(3) Optimizing mechanisms for mass contact to consolidate the foundation of public opinion for the "People's Consultative Conference for the people"
Maintaining close ties with the masses is a basic function of the PCC. The PCC must optimize its mechanisms for contacting the masses, playing its role as a bridge and bond between the Party/government and the people. This drives the Party and government to make decisions that align with the people's interests and consolidates the foundation of public opinion for the "People's Consultative Conference for the people."
First, optimize the mechanism for committee members to contact the masses in their respective sectors (jiebí [20]). Sectors are the basic units through which the PCC contacts the masses. PCC members are the spokespersons for their respective sectors, and the fact that they contact people from all walks of life within those sectors is a characteristic and advantage of the PCC. To leverage this advantage, it is necessary to clarify the general ideas and working methods for members to contact sector-based masses based on existing mechanisms, and to define the sector-based organizational support and sector conveners. Members should be trained through various forms, and detailed contact plans and evaluation systems should be formulated to solve the problems of insufficient capacity or laxity among individual members. This will enhance the operability of the contact mechanism and form a long-term mechanism for members to maintain close ties with and serve the masses.
Second, optimize the mechanism for reflecting social conditions and public opinion. This mechanism can promptly collect, organize, and report the views and suggestions of people from all sectors of society regarding the implementation of the Party's line, principles, and policies, as well as their views on "hot" and difficult social issues. In the daily work of collecting public opinion, the PCC communicates with various strata and groups through regular symposiums and seminars. Beyond this, it also expands new platforms for contacting the masses online, establishing a work mechanism that combines online and offline contact. In cooperation with integrated media (róng méitǐ), the PCC selects major matters of high public concern and issues closely related to daily life for consultation. This increases the enthusiasm of the masses to express their demands and wishes, creating a networked brand for contacting the masses with PCC characteristics, and ensuring that the PCC's mass contact work "goes deep and stays practical." Thus, by optimizing the mass contact mechanism, the PCC can further enhance the breadth, depth, and intensity of its connection with the masses, maintain "flesh-and-blood ties" [21] with them, better satisfy their realistic needs, and powerfully practice the people-centered development philosophy.
(4) Strengthening the mechanism of democratic supervision to ensure the practical effectiveness of the "People's Consultative Conference for the people"
The mechanism of democratic supervision is an important guarantee for strengthening the "People's Consultative Conference for the people." Democratic supervision is an important function of the PCC and an essential component of the socialist oversight system. Democratic supervision by the PCC differs from the "rigid" supervision of the People's Congress and the fragmented nature of social supervision. Rather, it is a form of "soft" supervision—specifically, a consultative supervision. It is realized primarily through persuasive consultation and dialogue, conducted according to specific procedures and regulations, aiming to assist the Party and government in identifying problems, improving work, and enhancing effectiveness. To grasp this positioning of the PCC's consultative supervision and leverage its characteristics of supervising for the people and serving the people, the democratic supervision mechanism must be strengthened to ensure effectiveness through standardized supervisory procedures.
First, strengthen the institutional construction of democratic supervision. It is necessary to fully recognize the important role of democratic supervision in practicing the people-centered development philosophy, highly value and support the PCC's democratic supervision work, and incorporate it into the institutional track. This involves clarifying the subjects, content, methods, and procedures of supervision, detailing the standards and requirements, and ensuring that democratic supervision is carried out in an orderly manner according to regulations. At the same time, the experiences and patterns gained from the practice of democratic supervision should be elevated into systems and mechanisms. We must strengthen institutional settings for organizational leadership, rights protection, information feedback, and communication/coordination. This creates a favorable environment for PCC members, enabling them to actively offer suggestions, speak for the people, and speak out boldly, supervising the actual delivery of practical results for the people.
Second, reinforce the working mechanisms of democratic supervision. Pragmatic and effective mechanisms are the key guarantee for promoting democratic supervision. The PCC should improve communication and coordination mechanisms, establishing a system of direct contact between specialized PCC committees and corresponding Party and government departments to conduct full consultations on practical issues concerning the vital interests of the masses. It should improve mechanisms for oversight, feedback, and rights protection, establishing a tracking and feedback system for democratic supervision opinions so that "every matter has a result and every issue receives an echo." A "green channel" or "expressway" should be established for PCC members to report situations, respecting and protecting their right to speak. This will correct the erroneous view held by some members that supervision is "useless" or "ignored," encouraging them to tell the truth and speak honestly. By fully utilizing democratic supervision—an important avenue for safeguarding the interests of the people—the practical effectiveness of the "People's Consultative Conference for the people" can be guaranteed.