Zhang Shuhua: Expressions and Characteristics of Whole-Process People's Democracy from the Perspective of China's Governance
The world today is experiencing a synergy between great changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic; the overarching trend of "the East rising and the West declining" [1] is irreversible. While the "disorder of the West" intensifies, the "governance of China" (中国之治) advances steadily. To the questions regarding democracy amid these global shifts, China has provided its own answer: developing whole-process people’s democracy.
The report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that developing whole-process people’s democracy is an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization; that people’s democracy is the lifeblood of socialism and an inherent part of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. On the new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects and marching toward the Second Centenary Goal [2], the Chinese people are rallying closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. Working with quiet resolve and vigor, they continue to innovate in political development theory and practice, sustainedly advancing the governance of China and ensuring that whole-process people’s democracy achieves new creations and progress across the board.
In April 2022, during an inspection of Renmin University of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, the construction of China's independent knowledge system." He emphasized that China’s philosophy and social sciences must "take China as the object of observation and the era as the object of observation," and "consciously take answering the questions of China, the world, the people, and the era as an academic responsibility, while taking the manifestation of China's path, governance, and logic as an intellectual pursuit." General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech on April 25 provided the direction for the further prosperity and development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics and serves as an action guide for accelerating the construction of China’s independent knowledge system.
As the saying goes, "He who perceives the momentum is enlightened; he who follows the trend is wise" [3]. The brilliant achievements of the People's Republic of China (PRC) over more than 70 years of construction have shattered the theoretical dogmas and logical constraints clung to by the Western world. China has created one historical miracle after another, pioneered a new paradigm for global modernization, and opened a new path that transcends the confines of the Western model through development, innovation, and progress. This provides a brand-new logical framework and value orientation for promoting comprehensive national development and social progress.
I. The Theoretical Value and International Significance of the Governance of China
The development of the PRC over more than 70 years has enabled the Chinese nation to achieve a great leap from standing up and becoming prosperous to becoming strong, ushering in bright prospects for great rejuvenation. The development achievements of the New China have shattered the "myth" that the Western liberal democratic and free-market models reign supreme and invincible. They have opened up a new realm for scientific socialism, explored new choices for other developing countries seeking independent development, and contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions. They have also contributed new concepts and momentum to the development of traditional East-West and North-South relations.
Whether viewed through the research paradigm of international comparative modernization or the analytical framework of capitalism versus socialism, a powerful conclusion emerges: the developmental achievements of the PRC over the past 70-plus years are unparalleled, and the path of Chinese-path modernization is unique and extraordinary. Political development within the process of Chinese-path modernization can be summarized as the "governance of China." The experiential advantages of the "governance of China" include both substantive factors with Chinese characteristics and general principles and laws that can serve as benchmarks for comparison. In today's chaotic and confused international situation, the "governance of China" demonstrates precious common values and universal significance.
In the Chinese language, zhi (治) carries both a behavioral orientation toward managing and handling affairs, and a conceptual meaning of stability and order. "Great governance under heaven" (tianxia dazhi) [4] is a paramount political ideal and pursuit in traditional Chinese political culture. In a broad sense, various periods in Chinese history saw eras of great governance, such as the "Governance of Zhenguan" or the "Governance of Wen and Jing" [5]. Regarding the connotation of "the governance of China" (Zhongguo zhi zhi), the academic community holds various interpretations. One view posits that "the governance of China" is a concept juxtaposed with the "disorder of the world," representing a vista of stable and harmonious development. Another view argues that it is a governance model with Chinese characteristics that possesses dynamic developmental qualities. Other scholars suggest that the governance of China constitutes "governance by the political party, governance of a major power, governance by the people, and governance of a civilization." It is a unity of "Chinese wisdom (zhi), the Chinese system (zhi), and Chinese resolve (zhi)"—namely, the unity of Chinese-style governance concepts, strategies, and visions [6]. Some researchers interpret the governance of China across three levels: first, it refers to the developmental path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the national governance system, and the institutional system through which the Party leads the people in governing the country—a set of interconnected and interlocking institutions. Second, it refers to the efficacy of national governance, the results of the arduous struggle of the people led by the Party, and a comprehensive manifestation of the Party's governing capacity. Third, it is the practical realization of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) "people-centered" development philosophy; its essence is "governance by the people."
In the New Era, the connotations and extensions of the governance of China are broad and profound. They encompass meanings such as China's development, success, miracles, and contributions; they also include the scale of China’s magnitude and strength, as well as the aesthetic, ingenuity, and "Way" (Dao) of China. The Chinese system is formed on the foundation of the Chinese path, and the Chinese system achieves the governance of China by following the Chinese direction. Manifested in a political state, the governance of China refers to a historical process of development that moves in tandem and coordinates with economic development and social harmony and progress.
The political development of contemporary China has blazed a unique and highly effective path in world politics. Since the founding of the PRC over 70 years ago, and especially during the 40-plus years of reform and opening up, China's political development process has achieved comprehensive, authentic, and effective people’s democracy through continuous and stable development, enhancing China's international competitiveness and influence. Contemporary China has successfully resisted various interferences carried out by the West under the guise of "democracy, freedom, and human rights." With a firm political stance and an open developmental vision, and by conforming to the will of the people, China has opened a unique and effective path of political development, opened a new realm for scientific socialism, and explored a new road for other countries seeking independent development.
The progression from "China’s path" and "China’s system" to "the governance of China," and further to "China’s logic," "China’s scholarship," and "the Chinese Way," reveals the distinct and unique logical chain behind the Chinese miracle. It also presents the Chinese and international academic communities with historical questions and contemporary propositions of immense challenge and innovative value. Behind China’s development and the Chinese miracle lies a rich reservoir of Chinese logic and the Chinese Way. The governance of China and its experience are historical, developing, inclusive, and open; they possess both a side of Chinese characteristics and particularity, and a side of commonality reflecting the general laws of world development. The "Chinese Way" contained within "the governance of China" belongs both to China and to the world. Anchored in the New Era and facing the future of the world, we must effectively summarize the political experience of China’s development, refine the core political value concepts of China, and tell the story of the common development of China and the world. We must advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization and contribute more Chinese experience, wisdom, and thought to the cause of human civilization and progress.
II. The Governance of China and the Path of Development from the Perspective of Comparative Modernization
Since the international financial crisis of 2008, the political and economic situation of the international community has undergone major changes. Western developed countries have seen sluggish economies, the capitalist system has encountered difficulties, and internal politics in various countries have polarized. Especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flaws and internal contradictions of the Western capitalist system have further expanded, becoming a source of turmoil in the global political and economic situation. In sharp contrast, since the founding of the PRC, and particularly during the 40-plus years of reform and opening up, China has actively responded to various domestic and international destabilizing factors, achieving the Chinese miracle of rapid economic growth, long-term social stability, and prosperous lives for its people. In 2019, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Upholding and Improving the System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Advancing the Modernization of China's System and Capacity for Governance. This decision comprehensively and profoundly answered the major political proposition of "what we should uphold and consolidate, and what we should improve and develop," marking China's achievement of a historic leap from the "Chinese system" to the "governance of China."
The Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, pointed out the world-historical significance of the path of Chinese-path modernization. The Party has led the people in successfully blazing a new Chinese path to modernization, creating a new form of human civilization and expanding the avenues for developing countries to modernize. This path differs from the modernization pursued by Western countries over the past century, the modernization models attempted by the Soviet and Eastern European blocs, and the transitional "prescriptions" or modernization "templates" offered by Western countries to late-developing nations. Chinese-path modernization "provides a brand-new choice for those countries and nations in the world that wish to accelerate their development while maintaining their independence."
The path of Chinese-path modernization has achieved great historical success, solving many difficult problems in the development of human society. It contains rich theoretical connotations and strategic developmental value. As China enters its new stage of development, the path of Chinese-path modernization presents even brighter prospects.
China's development has avoided "evil paths" and "dead ends," carving out a new path of modernization for a major global power. For over 100 years, the Communists of China have braved hardships and conducted arduous explorations to find a developmental path aimed at "seeking happiness for the people, strength for the country, rejuvenation for the nation, and the Great Harmony (datong) for the world" [7]. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has avoided the "old path" of closed and rigid stagnation, the "evil path" of changing flags and colors [8], and the "dead end" of wholesale Westernization.
China's political practice fundamentally challenges Western political development theory, resolving the "paradox" of modernization and democratization proposed by the American political scientist Samuel Huntington: that modernity breeds stability, while the process of modernization breeds disorder. China's political development, reform, and innovation did not follow the so-called "political modernization" path set out by existing Western theories; rather, through painstaking exploration, China gradually achieved its own predetermined development goals. Today, in the face of the allure of Western-style "democratic prescriptions" and waves of "democratization," an increasing number of views in the international academic community hold that the core political issue for late-developing countries is how to construct a political system that accords with reality, and on that basis, build a governance system and governing capacity strong enough to achieve their own goals.
"The peach and the plum do not speak, yet a path is worn beneath them" [9]. Over the years, China's developmental achievements have attracted the attention of the international academic community. Barry Buzan and George Lawson argue that China's modernization is uniquely Chinese and will not be a simple clone of the Western, Japanese, or other traditional modernization models. The international community requires a policy of coexistence that acknowledges, tolerates, and respects differences. British scholar Martin Jacques believes that China's governance system is capable of mobilizing various resources, thinking strategically, and exercising long-term foresight. Dr. Burov, a nonagenarian chief researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a renowned Russian Sinologist, pointed out that the CPC has successfully realized the "Sinicization of Marxism" several times in its history, leading the Chinese people toward the historical rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Professor Romanov, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert on contemporary China, wrote that China's rejuvenation concerns the historical destiny of Russia, and that China's development and rise are hailed by the outside world as "the most significant political event of the 21st century." Since the founding of the PRC, and especially over the past 40-odd years of reform and opening up, the great achievements China has made have been praised and envied by Russian society. Professor Grazhikov, a China expert from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, proposed that without the CPSU there would have been no Soviet Union, and without the great Communist Party of China, there would be no great China. In contrast to the CPSU, which collapsed after more than 90 years since its founding and 70 years in power, China has not only avoided following the Soviet Union's disastrous path but has successfully lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty and become the world's second-largest economy; in this, the CPC's contribution is paramount.
However, not all foreign scholars can view the governance of China through an objective lens. For instance, Nadège Rolland, a senior fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research in the United States, argues that China's vision for development uses "clever rhetorical turns" to undermine the universal applicability of liberal democracy and represents an opposition to a universal model suitable for all countries. More than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, international ideological struggles have not ended. On the contrary, in today's world, institutional competition and ideological contests have become even more intense.
The great achievements of China's reform, opening up, and development were secured amidst a complex and volatile international environment. More than 30 years ago, with the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, major Western powers presumed they had won a victory without firing a shot in the grand chessboard of the East-West rivalry. For a time, concepts such as democracy, freedom, and human rights became powerful tools for the West to export ideology and interfere in the political lives of other nations. Some Western countries packaged Western-style democracy and human rights as "universal values," preaching and peddling them everywhere. The 30 years following the Cold War have been a period of global expansion for Western-style democracy, but simultaneously a period in which its theories have shown cracks and its practices have gradually faced bankruptcy. In recent years, against the backdrop of major adjustments and transformations in the global political landscape, the Western camp has failed to engage in self-reflection to heal its own systemic maladies and avoid social fragmentation and democratic degeneration. Instead, it has gone to great lengths to direct political turmoil and disaster toward other countries by waging "trade wars" and "tariff wars," promoting the export of democracy, inciting "color revolutions" [10], and instigating street riots.
"China's Governance" has successfully dismantled the "China threat theory," the "clash of civilizations theory," and the "end of history theory" [11] promoted by Western think tanks. China’s Governance has successfully bypassed the traps of Western-style democratization, countered the export of Western democracy, and shattered the myth of Western-style democracy. China’s Governance represents the success of China's path to modernization. The Chinese-path modernization was explored and developed autonomously, possessing strong characteristics of being self-determined and Sinicized. It persists in putting the people first and development as the priority, emphasizing that everything must proceed from reality; this has been the key factor in its smooth growth. The Chinese-path modernization has always adhered to a systems perspective and dialectical thinking, maintaining the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" and coordinating the "Four Comprehensives" strategic layout, thereby maximizing the synergy for development. A key secret to the success of Chinese-path modernization also lies in the scientific handling of the relationship between reform, development, and stability. Political development within the Chinese-path modernization is a unity of comprehensiveness, coordination, and practicality. It has achieved historic success, reflecting the historical pursuits of this ancient yet vibrant Eastern civilizational power. It conforms to the basic laws of political development for a unified, multi-ethnic, and populous country, leading the Chinese people with broad strides along the sunlit path of national development and opening a brand-new path for world political civilization.
"China's Governance" integrates the inclusive thinking of traditional Chinese culture, such as "all-embracing" [12] and "appreciating the beauty of others to achieve shared beauty" [13]. China's Governance is the governance of a great Party and a strong nation, the governance of the people, and the governance of civilizational rejuvenation. Advancing in the New Era, the connotation and extension of China’s Governance are broad and profound. It includes the manifestation of China's development and success, as well as the meanings of the "China miracle" and China's contribution. It encompasses the material scale of China's vastness and strength, as well as the spiritual charm of China's beauty and wonder. It includes the orientations and institutional stipulations of the "China road" and the "China system," as well as the ideological and value norms of "China's logic" and "China's Tao." The "China system" is formed on the foundation of the "China road," and the smooth operation of the China system achieves China's Governance.
The value orientation and empirical principles of China's Governance have enriched the connotations and concepts of human development, expanded the vision of global development, and are profoundly influencing the global landscape and the historical process of human social progress.
III. The Civilizational Traits and Advantages of China's Governance
In today’s world, China's Governance is a historical process in which political development and national governance move in the same direction and develop in coordination with economic development and social harmony. China’s Governance is an organic unity of process and result, state and goal, path and system, means and value, the China road and the China system, the Chinese spirit and Chinese power, Chinese concepts and Chinese values, and Chinese civilization and human civilization.
(1) China's Governance has not mechanically copied the political models of other countries; it conforms to Chinese historical and cultural traditions, is deeply rooted in Chinese soil, and possesses autonomy and endogeneity.
For many years, Western-style competitive democracy and the free-market model were considered universal, eternal, and the "destination of happiness" for all humanity. However, 30 years ago, the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries—either collapsing or changing course during the long Cold War—brought not happiness to their people, but immense suffering. Since the outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis, Western society has fallen into a quagmire, further exposing the defects of Western-style democratic politics. In stark contrast, the outstanding performance of China's Governance has injected strong momentum into the global economic recovery and won widespread praise from the world.
By studying the ups and downs of world history and observing the success or failure of great parties and the rise and fall of great powers, one can discover an important law: direction determines destiny, the path determines success or failure, and the system determines rise or fall. We will never take the old path of being closed and stagnant, nor the evil path of changing flags [14], nor the dead end of mechanical copying or the terminal road of total Westernization. This demonstrates the extraordinary political choice, wisdom, and determination of the Communist Party of China.
(2) China's Governance always adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, ensuring that national development always has a stable political core.
The developmental path of contemporary China began from the historical starting point of the CPC leading the Chinese people to build a New China. Party leadership is the most essential characteristic and advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The CPC has led the Chinese people to achieve national independence, ethnic liberation, and the people's status as masters of the country; it has guaranteed the country's sovereign security, political security, and social stability, providing a strong political guarantee for economic development and social progress.
Adhering to the leadership of the CPC ensures that the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics always has a stable political core. This is conducive to formulating strategic plans that maintain national unity, ethnic solidarity, and the sustained and healthy development of the national economy; it facilitates the formation of principles and policies that represent the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people and the long-term interests of the country; and it allows for the concentration of strength to deploy and integrate resources. "Concentrating strength to accomplish great tasks" helps to "seek the greatest common denominator, increase the maximum degree of consensus, and form the greatest cohesive force," avoiding the depletion of reform and development consensus and synergy due to interest fragmentation or social conflict. This provides an inexhaustible political motive force for national development and national rejuvenation.
(3) China's Governance always adheres to the principal status of the people, continuously consolidating the foundation of governance and enhancing the momentum of development.
Adhering to the principal status of the people is the starting point and the ultimate goal of contemporary China's development. In the early days of the New China, everything was waiting to be rebuilt, while the country faced an international environment of intense Western containment. Under such difficult circumstances of being "poor and blank," the CPC, through extensive and effective social mobilization, strove to the utmost to win the support of the masses and stimulate their vitality, concentrating the people's strength and wisdom to build a New China and change the country's impoverished and backward appearance. For over 70 years, the masses have devoted themselves to national construction as the masters of New China. On the premise that their political rights are guaranteed, they have realized their economic, social, and other various rights.
IV. The "China Logic" Contained within China's Governance
"China's Governance" contains profound "China Logic." We must deeply excavate and summarize the theoretical value, practical value, and world significance of "China's Governance."
(1) Prominent characteristics of the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics
Contemporary Chinese politics integrates democracy, order, and efficiency into a pattern of all-round development. Under the requirements of different periods and strategic goals, it achieves the unity of political values such as democracy, order, and efficiency. it maintains the organic unity of Party leadership, the rule of law, and the people's status as masters of the country, and ensures that the rule of law and the rule of virtue complement each other.
The characteristics of the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics are prominently displayed in:
Adhering to stability first and emphasizing consistency. "The key to developing socialist democratic politics is to increase and expand our advantages and characteristics, not to weaken or diminish them." We must ensure the Party leads the people in effectively governing the country, resolutely preventing a situation of "a group of dragons without a head" [15] or a "heap of loose sand" [16]. A stable political order is a necessary condition for contemporary China to advance reform and development; it can both protect the rights of the people and promote the improvement of the political system in a vibrant environment. The parallel progression of the rule of law and democracy means integrating and balancing the value elements of political development—democracy and order—so that the people's rights to equity, freedom, and development can be realized within the orbit of the rule of law, while also facilitating the supervision of power and the containment of corruption. Effective national governance is reflected in the way contemporary China's political system can resist environmental challenges and shocks, possesses institutional resilience, can absorb opinions and demands, and can implement high-quality, effective political management while resolving the series of problems brought about by public crises.
Adhering to development as the priority and emphasizing progressivity. The results of correct political leadership must, in the final analysis, be manifested in the development of social productive forces and the improvement of the people's material and cultural lives. Contemporary Chinese political development is an organic part of the cause of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics; it coordinates with and promotes economic, social, cultural, and ecological development, as well as all-round human development. This means political development is closely linked to development in other areas; as part of the superstructure, politics cannot break away from the economic base to advance in isolation, nor can it be vulgarized or simplified into the kind of "short-sighted politics" seen in Western electoral politics. China's political development is dedicated not only to various developmental goals within the political sphere but also to the cause of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics, serving the overall interests of national development.
Adhering to seeking truth from facts and emphasizing continuity. The worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism tell us that social development is a natural historical process—a continuous evolution from lower to higher stages that requires advancing steadily, one step at a time. Contemporary Chinese political development proceeds according to the overall deployment of the socialist cause. On the one hand, it always maintains synchronization with the overall national development strategy; on the other hand, under the guidance of the overall developmental situation, political development has its own strategies, plans, and steps. It unfolds according to plan as a continuous and incremental process. Political development is like a one-way street with almost no room for error. Therefore, reform of the political system cannot seek quick fixes, nor can it be radical or impetuous. Especially in a large country like China with a huge population and unbalanced development, which has not yet completed the great cause of national reunification and faces various threats and challenges, political system reform must be advanced steadily.
Adhering to dialectical thinking and emphasizing coordination. Things are universally connected. "We must persist in the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism and correctly handle the relationship between reform, development, and stability." Coordination is manifested, on one hand, in the harmony and balance of political development value goals such as democracy, order, and efficiency; on the other hand, it is shown in the mutual coordination between political development and economic, social, and cultural development. Contemporary Chinese political development focuses on the coordination and balance of democracy, order, and efficiency. In different historical periods, political development serves the phased strategies of national development. At the same time, political development focuses on staying synchronized with and mutually promoting economic development, and is dedicated to driving the harmonious development of society, culture, and individuals.
Adhering to a systems perspective and emphasizing efficacy. Our country is a large developing nation still in the primary stage of socialism. Advancing reform and development or adjusting interest relations often involves "pulling one hair and moving the whole body" [17]. We must be adept at looking at reality through history and seeing the essence through phenomena, grasping the relationships between the whole and the part, the present and the long term, the macro and the micro, the primary and secondary contradictions, and the specific and the general. Contemporary Chinese political development is dedicated to achieving political stability, political order, political performance, political capacity, political mobilization, and political integrity. We do not approve of abstract or simplistic discussions of "democracy, freedom, and human rights"; we advocate exploring the direction and focus of democracy and political reform with a broad developmental perspective.
(2) The theoretical crystallization and international value of China's Governance
The experience of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics can be summarized as "China's Logic," "China's Scholarship," and "China's Tao." "China's Governance" is the unity of comprehensiveness, coordination, and practicality, and is the organic unity of political values such as democracy, order, and efficacy.
- China's Governance scientifically defines "democracy" and has formed a "new concept of democracy" distinct from Western-style democracy. Regarding the issue of democracy, in the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping pointed out the need to develop socialist democracy and mobilize the enthusiasm of the masses. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "When there is a matter, have a discussion; things belonging to the people should be discussed by the people—this is the true essence of people's democracy." China's democracy is a brand-new form of democracy in human political civilization. The core essence of this brand-new democratic form is to promote people's democracy within the framework of all-round political development, and in turn use diverse and effective democratic forms to drive all-round political development. This is a Chinese-version, brand-new, high-quality democracy.
This new, high-quality democracy takes sovereign security, stable political order, and steady economic and social development as its prerequisites. Within this framework, the institutional capacity for absorption and integration and the orderly expansion of people's rights promote and merge with one another. Internationally, however, "low-quality democracy" [18] often undermines political stability, impairs political efficacy, and incites political confrontation, further triggering social chaos and leading to ethnic division and national disintegration. Low-quality democracy essentially loses the inherent substance and essence of democracy; it is a distortion, degeneration, and alienation of the essence of democracy: that the people are masters of the country.
- China’s Governance comprehensively interprets China’s unique outlook on development and highlights a concept of "all-round development." Political development is the socio-political result of the interaction between political systems and economic structures within a society under specific historical and cultural conditions. Since different countries have different national conditions, political development often possesses particularity. World historical experience shows that we should understand political development dialectically and establish a comprehensive and scientific outlook on political development. Political development should favor the all-round development of politics, economy, culture, society, and the individual, and it should favor the mutual coordination and collective progress of all social spheres.
As national conditions differ across the globe, the promotion of political reform and democratization must be based on national conditions; countries must persist in following their own paths and never mechanically copy Western models of political systems. China insists that development is the priority and reform is the key. China’s political practice has a broad horizon and has enriched the concept of political development. "China’s Governance" utilizes a comprehensive and scientific political development strategy to enhance political developmental power. It uses a sustained and stable political strategy to increase China’s political competitiveness and influence on the international stage, achieving continuous, coordinated, and inclusive growth in indicators such as political stability, political order, political performance, political capacity, political mobilization, and political integrity.
- China’s Governance promotes the shift from the "all-round development" of a single nation to the "common development" of many nations, embodying a "Global Governance Outlook." The world today is facing great changes unseen in a century [19]; it is in a historical period of major political and economic transformation, adjustment, and transition, where international political confrontation and conflict are intensifying. The world currently faces a governance deficit, a trust deficit, a peace deficit, and a development deficit. Resolving these "four deficits" requires upholding the concepts of justice and rationality, mutual consultation and understanding, and mutual benefit and win-win results, while continuously increasing strategic mutual trust to achieve lasting world peace and common development.
The grand vision of "a community with a shared future for humanity," proposed by Chinese leadership in the New Era to seek common development, profoundly condenses the institutional logic and development philosophy of moving from "all-round development" to "common governance." Moving from the "all-round development" of one country to the "common governance" by the people of the whole world is a transcendence of the "unilateralism," "political selfishness," and "national supremacy" pursued by certain major powers. Civilizational coexistence, peaceful coexistence, equal consultation, cooperative construction, fair sharing, and mutual benefit are the core principles of this grand vision. Only by adhering to the global governance philosophy of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and by upholding multilateralism, can we finally realize the beautiful vision of "common governance" by the people of the world and achieve harmony and coexistence, the appreciation of diverse cultures, and a world of Great Harmony [20].
V. The Journey of the Chinese People in Seeking Democracy
Contemporary China’s democratic concepts and practices inherit the excellent genes of the Chinese nation’s long history and culture. They embody the original aspiration and founding mission and the history of struggle of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the past 100 years, while manifesting China’s broad global perspective and profound humanistic concern in the New Era. The core of China’s democracy is people-orientation and the principle of the people centeredness; its concepts are sustainable and its path is viable.
The Chinese nation possesses a long historical and cultural tradition and deep reservoirs of values. The development of democratic politics in contemporary China originates from the fine traditional Chinese culture nurtured by over 5,000 years of civilization. It is forged in the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture created by the people under the Party's leadership during revolution, construction, and reform, and it is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
(1) Seeking the path of people's democracy in the historical journey of seeking sovereignty for the country and liberation for the nation
In modern times, Western powers continuously invaded and plundered, and China gradually sank into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Chinese nation was oppressed by the "three great mountains" [21] of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism. The Chinese people lived in cold and hunger, in "deep water and scorching fire" [22], with no democracy or freedom to speak of.
To resist internal and external enemies and strive for national independence, liberation, and people’s freedom, the Chinese people engaged in an arduous, unyielding exploration and struggle. From the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Revolution of 1911 to the May Fourth Movement, the Chinese people’s tireless pursuit of sovereignty, independence, and democracy began the magnificent revolutionary process of modern China.
China’s path of political development was formed amidst the twists and turns of order and chaos, prosperity and decline, and separation and unification. The Chinese people tried various paths of national salvation and political systems, including constitutional monarchy, parliamentarism, and multi-party systems, but all blind political imitations failed. The humiliating history of a broken country and a destitute populace made the Chinese people realize profoundly that only through national independence, national liberation, and the overthrow of the "three great mountains" could true democracy, freedom, and human rights be realized. Ultimately, the Chinese people historically chose the Communist Party of China.
Since its founding, the CPC has taken the realization and development of national sovereignty and people’s democracy as its mission. The purpose of the Party leading the people in revolution was to realize democracy for the majority, not the minority. The Party creatively combined the universal truths of Marxism with the specific realities of the Chinese revolution, successively proposing concepts such as "worker-peasant democracy," "people's democracy," and "New Democracy." It has continuously enriched and developed Marxist theories of democratic politics and, through practical forms such as strike workers' congresses, peasant associations, soviets of workers, peasants, and soldiers, consultative councils, and people's representative conferences of all circles, created forms for realizing people’s democracy that suit China's national conditions and ensure that the people are masters of the country.
The CPC led the Chinese people through 28 years of arduous struggle to establish the People's Republic of China. The Chinese people have stood up since then, finally able to decide their own destiny, plan their own development, and advance their own democratic process, realizing the great leap from thousands of years of feudal autocracy to people’s democracy. Only the CPC found the correct path and method to represent the will of the people and realize their rights; only the socialist system opened up broad prospects for the Chinese people to move toward true people’s democracy and national development.
(2) Developing people’s democracy in the most extensive and profound social changes in the history of the Chinese nation
In September 1949, on the eve of the founding of New China, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held. This was a significant meeting where the CPC, various democratic parties, people’s organizations, and non-party democratic personages discussed the great plan for building the nation according to democratic principles. The founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, marked the great victory of the New Democratic Revolution led by the CPC. The Chinese people truly began to serve as masters of the country, becoming the masters of the nation, society, and their own destiny.
In 1953, the people exercised their right to be masters of the country by electing representatives and holding People’s Congresses at various levels from the bottom up. In September 1954, the convening of the first session of the First National People's Congress (NPC) marked the formal establishment of the system of People's Congresses nationwide. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which had been extensively discussed by people across the country and was adopted at this session, established the state system of the people's democratic dictatorship—led by the working class and based on the worker-peasant alliance—and the political structure of the People’s Congress as our country's fundamental political system. It explicitly stipulated that: all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people; the organs through which the people exercise state power are the NPC and local people's congresses at various levels; and the NPC, local people's congresses, and other state organs shall all practice democratic centralism.
The establishment of the system of People's Congresses and the promulgation of the Constitution provided reliable institutional guarantees and constitutional basis for the Chinese people to exercise their right as masters of the country. By 1956, our Party had united and led the people in basically completing the socialist transformation of private ownership of the means of production, completing the transition from New Democracy to socialism, finishing the socialist revolution, establishing the basic socialist system, and advancing socialist construction. This completed the most extensive and profound social transformation in the history of the Chinese nation, laying the fundamental political prerequisite and institutional foundation for all development and progress in contemporary China. In its exploration, the construction of democratic politics in New China also took detours, leading to the destruction of democracy and the legal system, leaving behind painful lessons.
(3) Developing people’s democracy in the new great revolution of reform and opening up
Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the CPC has profoundly summarized both positive and negative historical experiences and led the people into a new period for developing people's democracy. It emphasized that democracy means mobilizing the initiative of the masses—that without democracy there can be no socialism and no socialist modernization. It stressed strengthening the socialist legal system, building a socialist state under the rule of law, and governing the country according to law to institutionalize and legalize democracy. It insisted on the organic unity of Party leadership, the people's position as masters of the country, and the rule of law. Putting people first, governing for the people, and building a socialist harmonious society became the consensus and guide for the CPC and the people of all ethnic groups to improve and develop socialist people's democracy.
Over the 40-odd years of reform and opening up, the construction of people’s democracy and the rule of law has made significant progress in practice. The institutional frameworks of the system of People's Congresses, the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, and the system of regional ethnic autonomy have been continuously improved and developed. Grassroots autonomy in urban and rural areas has been continuously refined. The leadership capacity of the CPC has been greatly enhanced, and the government's ability to administer according to law has significantly increased. Under the guidance of the goal of governing the country according to law and building a socialist state under the rule of law, the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of socialist democracy have been continuously strengthened. A socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, centered on the Constitution, has been basically formed, ensuring that there are laws to follow in the main aspects of national political, economic, cultural, and social life.
(4) Building high-quality people’s democracy in the historical task of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation
As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and the correct guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CPC has inherited and carried forward the correct direction and valuable experience of developing people's democracy, sketching and opening a new chapter in the construction of people's democracy.
Being people-centered is the essential core of people's democracy. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the hundred-year history of our Party is a history of practicing the Party's original aspiration and founding mission, a history of the Party being heart-to-heart with the people, breathing the same air, and sharing the same destiny. History fully proves that "The country is its people; the people are the country" [23]. The support of the people determines the life or death of the Party. If it wins the people's trust and support, the Party can overcome any difficulty and be invincible. Being people-centered is a highly condensed summary of the essential nature of Chinese democracy. The theory of people's democracy in the New Era is a vivid manifestation of the socialist outlook on democracy with Chinese characteristics, reflecting the people's will and safeguarding their interests; it is also the basic guidance for developing democracy. Only by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy—insisting that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people—can there be a correct outlook on development and modernization. The core of the new development philosophy is adhering to the people-centered approach, highlighting a distinct development orientation of "people first" and clarifying the question of "whom to rely on and whom to serve" in future development.
The broadest and deepest foundation for developing people's democracy is the people; we must persist in doing everything for the people and relying on the people for everything. We must incorporate the manifestation of people's interests, the reflection of their aspirations, the protection of their rights, and the enhancement of their well-being into the entire process of political construction and democratic development. Under the leadership of the Party, we must ensure that the people manage state, economic, cultural, and social affairs through various channels and forms, and ensure they enjoy extensive rights and freedoms according to law while fulfilling their due obligations. We should always place the people in the highest position in our hearts, take the people’s longing for a better life as our goal, and promote the fruits of reform and development to benefit all people more fairly and substantially. We must promote common prosperity to achieve more obvious and substantive progress, and unite the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people into a majestic force to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"How great the world is, yet the common people are the foundation" [24]. The masses are always the deepest foundation and the greatest source of confidence for the Communists of China. After more than 100 years of arduous exploration, the CPC has found a development path of "seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation." As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters the New Era, the CPC leads the Chinese people as they strive forward on the great historical journey toward the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
VI. Whole-Process People’s Democracy—China’s Choice and Answer to the "Question of Democracy" in the World
The governance of China is the governance of the people. The most essential characteristic of Chinese democracy is that the people are the masters of the country. Whole-process people's democracy is the latest summary and unique expression of Chinese democracy. China's people's democracy is a brand-new form of democracy.
The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force that determines the future and destiny of the Party and the country. In his important speech at the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must respect the people's pioneering spirit, practice a people-centered development philosophy, and develop whole-process people's democracy." General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on developing whole-process people's democracy clarify the characteristics and advantages of our country's socialist democracy, further enriching and developing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Developing whole-process people's democracy is of great theoretical and practical significance for upholding and improving the institutional system through which the people run the country, unswervingly following the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics, continuing to promote the building of socialist democratic politics, developing socialist political civilization, and subsequently building a modern socialist country in all respects.
(1) An Autochthonous and Autonomous Democracy Rooted in National Soil
Democracy is a common value of all humanity; however, because different countries have different socio-political conditions and historical-cultural traditions, the specific paths to realizing democracy also differ. "The fact that things are unequal is a matter of natural property" [25]. There is no political system model in the world that is exactly the same; what kind of political system a country implements and what path of political development it follows must be adapted to that country’s national conditions and nature.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The roads leading to happiness are not all the same. The people of all countries have the right to choose their own development paths and institutional models. This itself is the proper meaning of the people's happiness. Likewise, democracy is the right of the people of all countries, not the patent of a few nations. There are many ways to achieve democracy; it is impossible for them to be all cut from the same cloth." Whole-process people's democracy is rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, conceived and formed in the great practice of the Communist Party of China uniting and leading the Chinese people through revolution, construction, and reform. It demonstrates the great creativity of the Chinese people in terms of political systems and conforms to the historical, theoretical, and practical logic of the Chinese people's long-term struggle since modern times. It fully reflects the will of the Chinese people, adapts to the requirements of the development and progress of China and the times, demonstrates unique advantages in promoting the modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity, and has made a significant contribution to the progress of human political civilization.
After long-term exploration, our Party has united and led the people to gradually construct a complete institutional system to guarantee and support the people as masters of the country. The system of people's congresses is our country’s fundamental political system, through which the people exercise state power. The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China is a new type of party system [26] grown from Chinese soil, playing a unique role in forging consensus, optimizing decision-making, coordinating relations, and maintaining stability. The system of regional ethnic autonomy ensures national unity and achieves the goal of all ethnic groups being masters of the country together. The system of community-level self-governance is an important component of the institutional system for the people as masters of the country, representing an institutional creation for the masses to achieve self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-oversight. On the road ahead, we must unswervingly follow the path of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics and unswervingly uphold and improve the institutional system of the people as masters of the country.
(2) Socialist Democracy with Essential Provisions
Fundamentally different from Western-style oligarchy and plutocracy [27] hidden under the cover of intermittent voting, the people being the masters of the country is the essence of socialist democracy. Whole-process people's democracy reflects the distinctive characteristics of socialist democratic politics. Whole-process people's democracy adheres to the supremacy of the people, relies closely on the people, and continuously benefits the people. Through complete institutional procedures and complete participatory practices, whole-process people's democracy ensures that the state system [28], the system of government, and all other state governance activities fully reflect the requirement that the people are the masters of the country, making the people the true masters of the state and allowing them to fully enjoy democratic rights. This form of democracy can fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the people, continuously enhance the vitality of the Party and the state, promote more harmonious relations between political parties, ethnic groups, religions, social strata, and compatriots at home and abroad, and strengthen national cohesion. Whole-process people's democracy is deeply rooted among the people, possesses profound historical origins and a solid practical foundation, has won the heartfelt support of the masses, and radiates vigorous vitality and strong energy in practice.
(3) A Democracy of Unity and Consensus with Comparative Advantages
At the end of the Cold War, Western society once optimistically believed that the Western-style liberal democratic model was "universal" and eternal—the "destination of happiness" and ultimate goal for all humanity that would inevitably unify the world. However, history has clearly shown that human society did not welcome the so-called "end of history" [29]; instead, it has witnessed the institutional malfunction, systemic failure, governance disability, and failed transformation of Western-style democracy.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "In governing a country and promoting its modernization, the Western institutional model is not the only way. Countries can entirely forge their own paths. It can be said that we have used facts to announce the bankruptcy of the 'end of history' theory and the bankruptcy of the unilinear view of history which holds that all countries must eventually find their destination in the Western institutional model."
In 2018, the website of the British weekly The Economist published an article titled "The Deeper Changes Affecting American Democracy," pointing out that Western-style democracy does not have natural immunity; it is not only seriously ill but also contagious. A recent "2021 Democracy Perception Index" survey conducted by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation and the German polling agency Latana among more than 50,000 people in 53 countries showed that 44% of respondents believe the United States is the primary threat to democracy. The whole world has seen clearly that in the 30 years since the Cold War, the Western camp led by the United States has forcibly conducted "democratic transformation experiments" and exported political viruses internationally. This is not the achievement of democracy but the destruction and trampling of democracy—it is the source of the disease and the root of the trouble for today's global chaos.
Democracy is historical and developmental; no country in the world can consider itself the sole supreme authority, labeling or weaponizing "democracy" or turning "democracy" into a tool for hegemony and the wanton suppression of other countries. Democracy is growing and diverse; no country in the world can monopolize it, making "democracy" absolute or formulaic, or turning "democracy" into an operating software or panacea that is forcibly exported for universal application. Democracy must be adapted to a country's basic national conditions, serve the needs of the people, be practiced by the people, and be tested by the people. China’s brand-new view of democracy and its path to democracy reflect China's extraordinary state governance capacity, breaking through the previous development models and logical frameworks of Western-style democracy. It has greatly promoted the process of political development and provided a solid ideological guarantee and source of power for the comprehensive and coordinated development of Chinese society.
(4) An Effective and High-Quality Democracy with Diverse Forms and Wide Coverage
Whole-process people's democracy ensures that the people manage state affairs, economic and cultural undertakings, and social affairs through various channels and forms in accordance with the law by implementing democratic elections, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic oversight [30]. Through a series of effective institutional arrangements and norms of activity, whole-process people's democracy truly connects all links of democracy. It is a full-chain, all-round, and full-coverage democracy; it is the most extensive, true, and effective democracy. It achieves the unification of process-oriented democracy and result-oriented democracy, formal democracy and substantive democracy, and direct democracy and indirect democracy. It can effectively prevent the phenomenon where "promises are scattered everywhere during elections but no one is cared for after elections," and effectively prevent the problem where "the people have rights in form but are powerless in reality."
Whole-process people's democracy has both a scientific guiding ideology and rigorous institutional arrangements; it has both clear value orientations and effective forms of realization. It can find the "greatest common divisor" of the will and requirements of the whole society, concentrating strength to accomplish great tasks [31]. It promotes the development of various undertakings of modernization and effectively drives the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilizations. At the same time, it can coordinately enhance the people's economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological rights, truly and concretely reflecting the people's status as masters of the country in the realization and development of their own interests.
(5) A Systemic Democracy that Advances with the Times and Continuously Innovates
Different from the adversarial and divisive nature exposed in the democratic politics of some countries, Chinese-path democracy has distinctive characteristics of consensus and unity. As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, the principal contradiction in our society has been transformed [32]. The people’s aspiration for a better life has become stronger; they not only have higher requirements for material and cultural life but also increasing demands in areas such as democracy and the rule of law. Whole-process people's democracy better meets the people's growing democratic needs by continuously improving democratic systems, enriching democratic forms, and broadening democratic channels. For example, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, through the institutional innovation of establishing local legislative outreach offices [33], the National People's Congress has built a "direct train" to reflect the people's situation, listen to their opinions, and gather their wisdom. As of June 2021, these outreach offices have provided nearly 6,600 comments and suggestions on 109 draft laws, legislative work plans, and other matters. The communication between the national legislature and the masses has become increasingly convenient and efficient, and the enthusiasm and initiative of the masses to participate in legislative work in an orderly manner according to the law have reached new heights, demonstrating vivid whole-process people's democracy in legislative work.
The development of Chinese-path democracy increasingly manifests a diversity of forms and effectiveness in results. Simultaneously, community-level democratic practices have become more extensive and vivid. A series of rich and diverse community-level democratic forms, such as village councils, village supervisory boards, village deliberative councils, and resident deliberative councils, are flourishing in urban and rural communities. A series of community-level democratic channels imbued with the spirit of the times—such as television-based administration, radio-based administration, Party-newspaper-based administration, and online administration—are continuously broadening. Whole-process people's democracy is increasingly enriched and developed in practice.
Chinese-path democracy is a high-quality democracy oriented toward development. Whether democracy is false or true depends on the people's hearts. Whether democracy is good or not, the people's livelihood is most important. To develop whole-process people's democracy, we must adhere to the organic unity of Party leadership, the people as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country. The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We uphold and improve the system of Party leadership, adhering to and improving various systems for upholding the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership, the system of the Party’s overall leadership, the systems for governing for and relying on the people, the systems for improving the Party's governing capacity and leadership level, and the system for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
The Communist Party of China always represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible range of people, serves the people wholeheartedly, and continuously adheres to and improves the institutional system for the people as masters of the country. It places the comprehensive law-based governance of the country in a holistic, strategic, fundamental, and celebratory position. Party leadership provides the fundamental guarantee for the people as masters of the country and for the law-based governance of the country. The system of people's congresses embodies the nature of a socialist state and conforms to China's national conditions and reality. To persist in the people being masters of the country, we must persist in the system of people's congresses to ensure that through this system, the people hold the future and destiny of the state and the nation firmly in their own hands. We must deeply promote the comprehensive law-based governance of the country, uphold and improve the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, accelerate the construction of a socialist country under the rule of law, and realize the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of the people's status as masters of the country, providing a more solid legal guarantee for the people as masters. Party leadership, the people as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country are organically unified in the great practice of our country's socialist democratic politics.
History illuminates the future, and the journey has no end. Entering a new journey and forging ahead in the New Era, our development of whole-process people's democracy will surely gather even more massive strength to realize the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation, contributing more Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the development of human political civilization.