DEMOCRACY IN CHINA
What the West Ignores
Summary
China’s multi-level electoral system, with voting by secret ballot by over 900 million citizens, is ignored by the West, smug in the belief that a multi-party system is the only legitimate form of democracy. Democracy, however, may be more about producing results for the people than merely a question of form. It is the correlation between what people ask for and what they get. No system is perfect but there is considerable democracy in China, where people elect their representatives, who in turn elect the next level up; where government genuinely serves the people, who mostly do get what they want.
XISHUANGBANNA — For over a century, most citizens of Western countries have believed their political model to be the pinnacle of democracy—the only legitimate political system—requiring regular public elections with multiple parties competing, constitutionally separate powers among branches of government, a free press and free speech. For decades, this has been conjoined with "free market" ideology, meaning a private sector free as possible to allocate capital for maximum profit.
Today, however, the President of the country hitherto purporting to lead "liberal democracy" is challenging its every aspect, from free and fair elections to separation of powers and free speech. He holds tech corporations to ransom demanding a cut, bans journalists he dislikes and persecutes anyone with views contrary to his own.
While all this is giving pause for thought, most Americans and other Westerners agree that China is decidedly not democratic. Very little is known in the West about China's regular public elections involving not just 100 million party members but over 800 million other non-party members at county, township or village level—voting regularly.(1)
While China has elections at nine different levels of governance, from the grassroots level to the selection of the President, most Westerners steadfastly believe voting in China to be a giant charade. In this meme, close to a billion people all somehow vote as they are told, even though voting is by secret, untraceable paper ballots, and for multiple candidates who need not belong to the party.
Reciprocally, most Chinese today are bemused by Western politics, electing people of mostly mediocre qualifications, sometimes dubious character, and occasionally even dubious sanity. Straightforward news coverage of Trump's antics is enough to convince most that something is seriously amiss, not least that the current U.S. President is a prolific liar. Somewhat better examples of multi-party systems such as Canada are unfortunately overlooked.
Defining Democracy
Definitions of democracy often read something like: "A form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions, policies, laws, etc. according to law."(2) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.” (Article 21.) My favourite definition is: “Democracy is the correlation between what people ask for and what they get from the political process.”(3) Shouldn't the quality of a process be measured by its outcomes, not merely its form?
A U.S. study found the chances of a bill passing in both houses was completely uncorrelated with its popularity. A bill has an equal chance (30%), of becoming law whether it enjoys 0% or 100% popular support. Voter opinion simply doesn't matter and most people have zero influence over what becomes law or policy.(4) Even better-functioning multi-party democracies often cannot achieve compromise, too divided to move forward constructively.
In contrast to multi-party competition for power, China's one-party system aims to build broad consensuses and preserve them. The leadership is very sensitive to public opinion, constantly conducting surveys while keeping most findings to themselves. An important source of feedback is social media, where China's civil society is rambunctious indeed. Censorship blocks certain words and phrases, but younger netizens especially delight in inventing coded substitutes, often rendering censorship amusingly counter-productive by piquing even greater interest.
Most surveys of China's citizens find overwhelming support for the top leadership, consistently over 90%.(5)(6) Even surveys conducted by U.S. skeptics still find at least 65-70% supportive of the government. Admittedly, there is often less satisfaction with local governance.(7)
China's top leaders may not face elections that could oust them from power Western style, but they know they must remain in the people's good favour or risk losing what was called in the time of the Emperors, "the mandate of heaven." For decades, China's rapid economic growth and development, unparalleled in human history, was the basis of the Party's "performance legitimacy," and thus the people's good favour. Today, with nominal GDP growth slowing to "only" 4.5 or 5% per year, and real household incomes growing by "only" 6+% per year,(8) people are less happy about the economy. Greater emphasis is being put on quality growth, including better quality of life with more vacation and leisure time, and a cleaner environment. Most continue to think the central government is doing a pretty good job.
Democracy in China
Any Chinese citizen over 18 years of age has the right to vote and stand for election with the nomination of 10 others. They do not have to belong to the Party. Delegates to the congresses of counties, city districts, towns and townships are directly elected by both Party members and the public. These representatives then elect the members of the next congress up, usually prefecture-level, then provincial level, then the People's National Congress (c. 3000), then its Central Committee (205 plus alternates), then the Politburo (25), then the Politburo's Standing Committee and finally, the President.(9)
Village Committee members and chairpersons are also directly elected. They are particularly important as most rural residents live in one of about 500,000 villages. These Committees have considerable power and can write a Village Charter of local regulations.(10) Over 600 million also vote in township elections.(11)
I Myself Have Been Elected in China
As a Canadian property owner in a Chinese neighborhood where we were dissatisfied with management, I organized elections in 2017 to establish a Property Owners' Committee. The required process was rigorous, first electing a committee to hold the elections. Cajoled into standing for election myself, I was elected Director and served for six years.
Our Committee of five elected members (just two of us were party members), solved key problems such as reliable electricity and water. We held online votes on controversial matters such as whether to tender for a new company to manage cleaners, guards and maintenance. Local level politics was as raucous as anywhere. After six years, a new Committee was elected to carry on, with three incumbents and two new members.
Some Party officials do try to monopolize power, and often discourage independent candidates they dislike. However, such candidates still succeed, increasingly campaigning via social media. Even at the level of the People's National Congress, 15-16% of representatives are not party members, nor are all 205 members of the Central Committee.(12) However, virtually all high office holders are, as the principle of centralism (explained below) takes over the higher you go.
Provincial Congress delegates elect the members of the National People's Congress with nearly 3,000 delegates, including representatives of various constituencies. Its meetings are preceded by meetings of the People's Political Consultative Conference, more widely representative than Congress with 61% not members of China's Communist Party,(13) including representatives of such organizations as trade unions and the youth league, non-oppositional political parties and some independents.
Election to the Central Committee (205 members, plus alternates), is key. Months before each Party Congress, every five years, a Leading Group for Cadre Selection is formed. The Politburo (top 25), approves principles and requirements, lately favoring those with higher degrees, especially in economics, engineering and law. Teams are sent to all regions, ministries, and the military to interview and investigate candidates. The Politburo Standing Committee (the top seven, led by Xi Jinping), then holds six meetings to hear reports on the selection work, while the anti-corruption unit begins to interview candidates. During the Party Congress, there are two rounds of voting. The first vote shortens the preliminary list to a final list only about 10% longer than the number of seats available. The second round thus acts more like a veto, weeding out the least popular. Voting is, as always, by secret ballot.
Members of the Central Committee formally elect the Politburo of about 25. However, membership is carefully curated by the Party elite under a principle known as "Democratic Centralism". The Politburo then chooses its Standing Committee, currently seven members including Chairman Xi, through secretive negotiations. China's leader must negotiate a great deal with other factions of the elite about the membership of both the Politburo and Standing Committee, resembling a Western Prime Minister forming a minority government by putting together a coalition.
Most Westerners, even hearing this explanation, struggle to understand why this is democratic. Democracy takes place in the form of free discussion and election of leading organs from below, where grassroots democracy is the starting point. As each level elects the higher level representatives, power become more centralized. At the National Congress level and higher, after elaborate consultation, once a decision is taken, centralism calls for the entire body to speak with one voice. China appears to have struck the delicate balance needed to sustain democratic centralism, not allowing central power to extinguish democracy, nor allowing excessive competition for power to cause a coup or revolution. You have the right to vote by secret ballot to elect those who in turn vote to elect your leaders. You can join the party if you desire, and you can take part in vibrant discussion of new policies or laws that takes place both online and internally. But, once a thing is finally decided, then all should unite and move forward together.
Improving Democracy in China
Great attention is paid in the Western press to the crackdown on corruption in the party led by General Secretary Xi Jinping. However, there is no coverage at all of the many efforts made to strengthen democratic representation during his tenure.
For instance, compilation of the "15th Five-Year Plan" in 2025 solicited over 3.1 million comments online.(12) In Xinjiang, in contradiction of Western accusations, careful attention is paid to the participation of minorities. As of 2024, non-party members in the provincial congresses at all levels were 49% while ethnic minority members were 46%.(14) Decisions on matters at the grassroots level originated from public proposals 85% of the time.(15)
The fourth amendment of the law on People's Congresses at all levels, last year, concentrates on the duty of representatives to listen to their constituents, the duty of higher level delegates to listen to the delegates from lower levels (who elected them), and of government organs to listen to the opinions of delegates about their work.(16) These are but a few examples of efforts in recent years to ensure that democratic representation functions well.
Why Do Most Laws Pass With Over 90% in Favor?
Westerners also have trouble understanding why so many laws are passed with near-unanimity, calling the National Congress a "puppet parliament." In China, however, if and when a proposed law gets to the final vote, it should already reflect a broad consensus. If a good deal of disagreement remains, then it is held back.
Laws are reviewed by the Politburo Standing Committee three times, each time after being posted online in their latest draft and then revised, often substantially. Delegates to the National Congress work hard, receiving many requests for comments and providing a good deal of feedback long in advance of their annual trip to Beijing. By the time Congress convenes, many matters have already been settled.
Even 5% of delegates voting against a law causes a kerfuffle, an intra-elite signal that something was pushed through too hard. More usually, a still-contentious draft is reported in the media as "rejected," without a vote. It may be re-introduced in future and again undergo three publicized drafts. In the example of introducing a nation-wide property tax, the proposed law has been "held back" for a decade. Objections originally regarded the optimal timing for the health of the economy, then concern that during COVID was not the right time, and today, concern about further undermining the health of the real estate market.
Censorship
"Ah", cries another popular Western meme: "China censors the media and freedom of speech, whereas we have "freedom of the press". While many foreigners and some Chinese feel government censorship goes too far, especially of internet sites, it is understandable that they block some sites like Facebook and Google. Quite apart from preventing the CIA from using social media to foment unrest as they have done in so many countries, this protection has allowed China to develop it's own super apps, most notably WeChat and recently, Deep Seek, rather than being dominated by U.S. apps, as in Europe.
The main limitation on freedom of speech is that the one party system is not open for public discussion, no more than a multi-party system is open to overthrow in the West. China's constitution makes that quite clear. Discussion of top leaders' personal life is also blocked. While censorship goes unnecessarily far at times, one may understand how activism, especially conspiring with foreign agents to incite people to overthrow China's government and replace it with a Western-style system, is considered treason.
There is much other free discussion, especially of corruption, and of course complaining in general. There are tens of thousands of public protests or demonstrations in China every year, usually about local issues and drawing less than 100 people—often outside the gates of a company or real estate project. On national topics, social media have largely replaced street demonstrations. For instance, the lack of benefits for China's 100 million delivery drivers became a hot topic, a question of fairness, the subject of a film and a hit auto-biography by one such worker.(17) Delivery drivers' benefits are being steadily improved and their salaries are already quite good by Chinese standards.(18)
Keep in mind that tens of millions use a VPN to leap over the digital "Great Wall." Tens of millions have lived and studied abroad and speak (and read), good English while this year alone, Chinese will make 155 million trips abroad.(19) As a result, the average educated Chinese knows a good deal about the West. Westerners would do well to question how accurate their own media are, especially regarding China.(20)
Democratic Resource Allocation
One indicator of democracy is whether resources are allocated in the interest of the majority. Here we confront one of the most important differences between China's system of "democratic centralism" and Western "liberal democratic" systems which contend market forces left to themselves most efficiently allocate investment. China too wishes market forces to guide investments so they are not wasteful, but they take a broader view than would a private corporation or company as it is not always necessary to make an immediate profit to succeed in furthering the public interest, thus seeing a sufficient return.
China's high speed trains are a good example. Most of China's 50,000 kilometers of high speed rail are not profitable, with only a few in coastal cities breaking even. The network as a whole has accumulated over $900 billion in debt and continues to endure operating losses. Beijing, however, has decided that the return on this investment to the country as a whole, in terms of mobility and development, is worth it—so much so that it will build another 30,000 kilometers by 2030. The entire country, even smaller places, is becoming connected by these super-fast trains at affordable prices.
I am actually sitting on a Chinese high speed train as I type this passage. There is almost none of the hassle of an airport. I buy a seat online in a minute or two on my phone. I can arrive just 20 minutes before departure—swiping my ID card (no ticket), to go through a turnstile and board. The trains always leaves exactly on time, to the minute and never arrives late. I can travel most places in the country at a steady 420 kilometers per hour in comfort, usually with stable internet. Even faster trains that go 600kph are already being rolled out, while trains that go faster still—1000kph, faster than a passenger airplane—are being tested.
Conclusion
China enjoys considerable democracy, both in terms of voting to elect politicians and in achieving governance outcomes that reflect the will of its people. It's government visibly marshals investment to maximize public benefit and continues to enjoy strong popular support.
No system is perfect, but I hope this article is sufficient to make readers aware that the standard Western narrative about China's "autocracy" is highly inaccurate, and that a multi-party system is not democracy's definition. China's political system is electoral, enormously successful, and highly popular among its own people. It will continue to succeed and improve, further challenging Western conceptions.
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The most recent nationwide grassroots election cycle, conducted mainly from 2021–2022, involved more than 900 million voters. Official figures report 921 million people voting for county-level deputies and 623 million voting for township-level deputies. These figures should not simply be added, because the same people can vote at both levels. Those elections selected more than 2.6 million township- and county-level deputies. See: https://english.www.gov.cn/news/topnews/202210/10/content_WS63436acec6d0a757729e0fdc.html.
Monroe, Alan D. (1975). Public Opinion in America. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 6. Cited in Brettschneider, Frank. (1996). “Public Opinion and Parliamentary Action: Responsiveness of the German Bundestag in Comparative Perspective.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 8(3), 292–311. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/8.3.292.
Harvard's Kennedy School Ash Center has run long‑term surveys of Chinese citizens showing consistently high satisfaction with the national governhttps://sino-cinema.com/2024/11/01/review-upstream-2024/ment, generally above 90 %, and over many years.
Edelman Trust Barometer's 2021 edition recorded 91 % trust in the Chinese government among Chinese respondents.
https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202601/t20260120_1962356.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_14th_National_People%27s_Congress.
国家一切权力属于人民”——习近平总书记全过程人民民主重大理念的生动实践, https://www.zlb.gov.cn/20260302/80c7c1f38cb142518007c865cb8648de/c.html#1
Full text: CPC Guidelines for Governing Xinjiang in the New Era: Practice and Achievements， http://english.scio.gov.cn/whitepapers/2025-09/20/content_118090322_8.html#1。
Full text: CPC Guidelines for Governing Xinjiang in the New Era: Practice and Achievements， http://english.scio.gov.cn/whitepapers/2025-09/20/content_118090322_8.html#1.
全国人民代表大会关于修改《中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会和地方各级人民代表大会代表法》的决定 (Decision of the National People's Congress on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on Deputies to the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses at Various Levels), https://www.xjpcsc.gov.cn/article/3a83f9f834fc4db49e68897d832a58d6#1,
推动人大代表与群众“双向奔赴 (Promoting a "two-way flow" between people's representatives and the masses), https://www.gzrd.gov.cn/xwzx/mtgz/202511/t20251120_88960455.html?isMobile=true， 人民日报 | 修改后的代表法已于3月12日起施行，“践行全过程人民民主”写入其中 (People's Daily | The revised Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference came into effect on March 12, and "practicing whole-process people's democracy" was included in it.), https://www.xjpcsc.gov.cn/article/3a83f9f834fc4db49e68897d832a58d6#1
Film：逆行人生 （https://sino-cinema.com/2024/11/01/review-upstream-2024/); Book: 胡安焉 (2023), 我在北京送快递. 湖南文艺出版社. （Wikipedia review: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Deliver_Parcels_in_Beijing).
Average salary plus bonus is about RMB 150,000 per year or well over USD 20,000 with a low rate of income tax. https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/delivery-driver/china.
The primary reference work today remains Herman, Edward & Noam Chomsky (1988), Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. It argues that the mass communication media of the U.S. "are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion." (page 306, cited in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent.)
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