“It is important for China's Constitution to be very precise and detailed. Not only to reflect changes in circumstances but also to reflect the direction in which the top strategic forces of the leadership are aiming,” said Charles Liu, founder of Hao Capital on The Point (@thepointwithlx).

Liu expressed what he considers to be the top three most important purposes the Constitution serves. “Number one, to educate the masses as to what their rights are, what the government can and should provide. Number two, the officials have to look at what is in the Constitution seriously and be educated as to how to govern. Number three, it gives direction and guidance to where the country is strategically headed to maintain that stability.”  

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, adopted the constitutional amendment on March 11. The revision is a monumental feature of this year’s Two Sessions. The changes included removing the limit on presidential terms and listing the supervisory commission as a new type of state organ. This shift has got the world talking.

Liu spoke about the Western media focusing on the superficial aspects of the amendment instead of the substance. He thought the set up of the supervisory commission and the promotion of the rule of law, which is reflected in the amendment, was very significant. 

Alexander Nekrassov, a former Kremlin adviser, emphasized the implementation of the Constitution rather than the semantics of the content.

He said even though the Russian Constitution is not ideal; it’s a better system for the future than the one used in the US, giving the example that in Russia, top government officials can be prosecuted and sent to prison for corruption while in the US, this process won’t happen. “They had the biggest financial crash in 2008, and practically nobody answered for it,” he criticized. 

John Milligan-Whyte, chairman and CEO of Whyte Daimin Investments Ltd., echoed this view. “It (2008 Financial Crisis) shouldn’t have occurred, [but] it occurred. Absolutely nothing has been done to prevent another one from occurring. In that respect, the American Constitution is not being implemented. That’s the problem,” he said. 

He argued that Americans should not be going around the world, “saying we know everything and copy us. China and Russia could never be and shouldn’t be a copy of the United States.”