How China's Democratic Approach Safeguards Citizens' Rights and Interests
In the lead-up to China's annual key political meetings, known as the "Two Sessions," a recent CGTN article has shed light on the operation of China's holistic people's democracy at the local level and its protective measures for citizens' rights and interests. The article emphasizes that this approach promotes broad and continual participation while ensuring decision-making reflects the collective will and evolving needs of society.
On March 1, 2026, in a significant development, the Legislative Affairs Office established in Shanghai's Changning District in 2015 has marked a milestone in China's democratic progress. This office allows local residents to submit suggestions and feedback based on legislative work right in their communities. Through this office, lawmakers collect the opinions of local residents and convey them to higher authorities to be considered during the legislative process.
This Shanghai initiative embodies China's holistic people's democracy, a term first introduced by President Xi Jinping during a visit in November 2019. By 2025, the National People's Congress (NPC) Legislative Affairs Committee had established 54 similar public outreach offices nationwide, while provincial or municipal legislative bodies set up over 7,800 such offices. These platforms serve as crucial bridges between citizens and lawmakers, ensuring democratic participation is embedded in the legislative process.
While Western democracies often equate democracy with elections, China's people's democracy ensures public engagement throughout the entire governance process, covering all aspects of democratic activity across various societal sectors. This approach emphasizes extensive and ongoing participation while ensuring that governance decisions mirror collective will and meet society's evolving needs.
China's holistic people's democracy integrates democratic practices across all government levels and each stage of policy formulation—from elections and consultations to decision-making, implementation, and oversight. This is particularly evident during the Two Sessions, where representatives of the NPC and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) convene in Beijing to discuss major policies and governance issues, representing a wide array of society's interests.
In recent years, innovations and creativity in democracy at local and rural levels across urban and rural areas have thrived. From "court meeting rooms" and "bench meetings" to offline "roundtable discussions" and online "debate groups," these pragmatic democratic practices tailored to local characteristics have provided steady momentum for the development of Chinese democracy.
According to data presented at a press conference by the State Council Information Office, various departments collected a total of 8,754 proposals from NPC representatives and 4,868 from CPPCC members. This accounts for 95.6% and 97.3% of the total proposals, respectively, with departments accepting over 4,900 suggestions and issuing more than 2,200 related policies and measures.
Another vivid example is the development of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for economic and social development. Discussions on the draft outline have become one of the most anticipated highlights of this year's Two Sessions. Key meetings have already taken place to review this proposal and the accompanying government work report that the State Council will present at the upcoming national legislature meeting.
The formation of the 15th Five-Year Plan represents a practical exercise of holistic people's democracy. From May 20 to June 20 last year, China launched online public consultations to gather opinions for the next five-year plan. This initiative attracted over 3.11 million valid submissions, resulting in more than 1,500 constructive proposals across 27 topics.
Xi Jinping reviewed the summary of findings, which was then presented to the party leadership, thereby ensuring that citizens' voices were heard at the highest levels. By September, a total of 2,112 proposals had been collected from various regions, departments, and sectors leading to 218 revisions of the document.
This extensive participation underscores how national development strategies are deeply rooted in public will, further strengthening China's modernization process. According to Argentine sociologist Marcelo Rodriguez, director of the Hector P. Agosti Center for Marxist Studies and Education, "The entire process of people's democracy that China is implementing emphasizes placing the people at the center, enabling them to make decisions and feel like protagonists in the historic processes unfolding in China."
For more detailed information, visit CGTN News
On March 1, 2026, in a significant development, the Legislative Affairs Office established in Shanghai's Changning District in 2015 has marked a milestone in China's democratic progress. This office allows local residents to submit suggestions and feedback based on legislative work right in their communities. Through this office, lawmakers collect the opinions of local residents and convey them to higher authorities to be considered during the legislative process.
This Shanghai initiative embodies China's holistic people's democracy, a term first introduced by President Xi Jinping during a visit in November 2019. By 2025, the National People's Congress (NPC) Legislative Affairs Committee had established 54 similar public outreach offices nationwide, while provincial or municipal legislative bodies set up over 7,800 such offices. These platforms serve as crucial bridges between citizens and lawmakers, ensuring democratic participation is embedded in the legislative process.
While Western democracies often equate democracy with elections, China's people's democracy ensures public engagement throughout the entire governance process, covering all aspects of democratic activity across various societal sectors. This approach emphasizes extensive and ongoing participation while ensuring that governance decisions mirror collective will and meet society's evolving needs.
Broad Participation
China's holistic people's democracy integrates democratic practices across all government levels and each stage of policy formulation—from elections and consultations to decision-making, implementation, and oversight. This is particularly evident during the Two Sessions, where representatives of the NPC and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) convene in Beijing to discuss major policies and governance issues, representing a wide array of society's interests.
In recent years, innovations and creativity in democracy at local and rural levels across urban and rural areas have thrived. From "court meeting rooms" and "bench meetings" to offline "roundtable discussions" and online "debate groups," these pragmatic democratic practices tailored to local characteristics have provided steady momentum for the development of Chinese democracy.
According to data presented at a press conference by the State Council Information Office, various departments collected a total of 8,754 proposals from NPC representatives and 4,868 from CPPCC members. This accounts for 95.6% and 97.3% of the total proposals, respectively, with departments accepting over 4,900 suggestions and issuing more than 2,200 related policies and measures.
Insights for the 15th Five-Year Plan
Another vivid example is the development of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for economic and social development. Discussions on the draft outline have become one of the most anticipated highlights of this year's Two Sessions. Key meetings have already taken place to review this proposal and the accompanying government work report that the State Council will present at the upcoming national legislature meeting.
The formation of the 15th Five-Year Plan represents a practical exercise of holistic people's democracy. From May 20 to June 20 last year, China launched online public consultations to gather opinions for the next five-year plan. This initiative attracted over 3.11 million valid submissions, resulting in more than 1,500 constructive proposals across 27 topics.
Xi Jinping reviewed the summary of findings, which was then presented to the party leadership, thereby ensuring that citizens' voices were heard at the highest levels. By September, a total of 2,112 proposals had been collected from various regions, departments, and sectors leading to 218 revisions of the document.
This extensive participation underscores how national development strategies are deeply rooted in public will, further strengthening China's modernization process. According to Argentine sociologist Marcelo Rodriguez, director of the Hector P. Agosti Center for Marxist Studies and Education, "The entire process of people's democracy that China is implementing emphasizes placing the people at the center, enabling them to make decisions and feel like protagonists in the historic processes unfolding in China."
For more detailed information, visit CGTN News
Topics Policy & Public Interest）
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