How China's path of democracy safeguards people's rights and interests

A legislative outreach office in Shanghai's Changning District, established in 2015 in the Hongqiao Subdistrict by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), has become a landmark in China's democratic progress.

Residents can offer suggestions and feedback on legislative work close to home. Through this office, the opinions of local residents gathered by legislators were relayed to higher levels and taken into consideration during the process of legislation.

The Shanghai neighborhood has come to epitomize the country's whole-process people's democracy following a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2019, when he coined the term for the first time.

As of 2025, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee had established 54 such outreach offices across the country, and there were more than 7,800 such offices established by provincial or municipal legislatures. These platforms have served as vital bridges between residents and lawmakers, ensuring that democratic participation is embedded in the legislative process.

While Western democracies often equate democracy with elections, China's whole-process people's democracy ensures public participation throughout the entire process of governance, covering all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. This approach fosters broad and continuous participation, ensuring that governance decisions reflect the collective will and evolving needs of society.

Extensive participation

China's whole-process people's democracy integrates democratic practices across all government levels and at every stage of policymaking – from election and consultation to decision-making, implementation and oversight.

It is embodied in the Two Sessions – the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the NPC and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Thousands of NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members convene in Beijing to deliberate on and discuss major policies and governance matters, representing a broad cross-section of society.

Over the years, innovation and creativity in grassroots democracy across urban and rural areas nationwide have become more dynamic than ever, unleashing great vitality at the grassroots level. From "courtyard meeting halls" and "bench meetings" to offline "roundtable meetings" and online "deliberation groups," these pragmatic democratic practices based on local characteristics have provided sustained momentum for the development of China's democracy.

In 2025, various departments of the State Council handled a total of 8,754 suggestions from NPC deputies and 4,868 proposals from CPPCC National Committee members, accounting for 95.6 percent and 97.3 percent of the total number of suggestions and proposals, respectively, according to a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on Friday. In particular, these departments adopted more than 4,900 suggestions and proposals from deputies and members, and issued more than 2,200 related policies and measures.

Pooling wisdom for 15th Five-Year Plan

The drafting of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) for economic and social development provides another vivid example. Deliberations on the draft outline are among the most closely watched items on the agenda of this year's Two Sessions.

On Friday, a key leadership meeting was held to discuss a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan and a draft government work report to be submitted by the State Council to the upcoming annual session of the national legislature for review.

Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan has been a process of practicing whole-process people's democracy. From May 20 to June 20 last year, China launched an online public consultation to gather opinions for its next five-year plan. The initiative drew over 3.11 million valid submissions, yielding more than 1,500 constructive suggestions across 27 topics.

A summary of these findings was reviewed by President Xi and submitted to the Party leadership, ensuring that citizens' voices were heard at the highest level. By September, a total of 2,112 suggestions had been collected from various regions, departments and sectors, resulting in 218 revisions to the document.

This broad-based participation demonstrates that national development strategies are rooted in public will, gathering strong momentum for Chinese modernization.

"This whole-process people's democracy China is carrying out aligns with the goal of putting the people at the center. It enables them to decide and feel that they are the protagonists of the historical process that is taking place in China and the beneficiaries of the transformations that are happening," said Argentine sociologist Marcelo Rodriguez, director of the Hector P. Agosti Center for Marxist Studies and Training.