MY CHINA (Part 3)

Truths About the National People's Congress

3 April 2026

by KAN Fengmin

Summary

This article argues that China’s system of democratic centralism and the National People’s Congress (NPC), form a sophisticated and effective model of governance rather than the “rubber stamp” it is portrayed as in Western discourse. Democratic Centralism blends grassroots consultation with centralized decision-making to ensure unity and accountability. The NPC, China’s highest state body, consists of nearly 3,000 Representatives from diverse sectors who are elected through a multi-level system and usually serve part-time while maintaining regular professions. Working alongside advisory bodies like the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Representatives research issues, submit proposals and oversee legislation. Much policy discussion occurs before annual sessions, enabling efficient decisions and reforms that address both national development and everyday concerns.

In Part One, I paid tribute to the Communist Party of China for its leadership in transforming an impoverished land of close to 600 million people in 1949 into a strong nation of 1.4 billion today, enjoying modern lives. In Part Two, I paid tribute to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army – a force for peace not war, protecting its people from the suffering caused by international power politics and the lawlessness that prevails.

In this article, Part Three, I will explain how Democratic Centralism and the democratic China's National People's Congress – routinely dismissed in the West as a 'rubber stamp' – is in fact the heart of a highly sophisticated, well-functioning and dynamic system, playing a critical role in national decision-making and implementation across all walks of Chinese life.

Democratic Centralism

Democratic Centralism is a secure, coherent and effective system for leadership and implementation, with clear responsibility and accountability. It was written into the Chinese Communist Party’s Constitution in 1927 and came into practice at the Zunyi Conference of the Communist Party in January 1935, during the Long March of the Chinese Red Army. Over the next 91 years it progressively developed into a sophisticated, dynamic and well-functioning system. This fundamental organizational principle has strengthened the leadership of the Communist Party, developing a productive and sustainable intra-party relationship, addressing the daily needs of the Chinese people while deciding on priority areas for development of the country as a whole.

Democratic Centralism combines centralization based on democracy, with democracy under the guidance of centralism. In this system, democracy and centralism are mutually conditional, complimentary and indispensable. In other words, democracy in China promotes structured bottom-up consultations around issues of majority concern and is a prerequisite for responsible centralism. It promotes unified implementation through a top-down process. Without democracy, centralism would become a personal dictatorship and autocracy. Similarly, without centralism, democracy could well devolve into overly extreme competition and ultimately, anarchy. In this system, the National People’s Congress – the highest organ of state power – can consolidate and merge the results from both bottom-up and top-down processes, fostering national unity and creating powerful synergy for national rejuvenation.

The Representatives of the National People's Congress

In China, Representatives are democratically elected, not appointed. There are five levels of representation in line with administrative levels. People’s Representatives at the township and county levels are directly elected by people in their constituencies. Municipal, provincial and national representatives are indirectly elected by the next lower level of People's Representatives. Together, Representatives at the five levels represent the interests and will of the people, and exercise state power to fulfill their duties as conferred by the Constitution and laws throughout China.

Unlike Western countries, the elected Representatives for People's Congress are not full-time politicians and are not paid by tax-payers. About 30% of Representatives are not members of the Communist Party. Representatives have their own professions for making a living, very often key personnel in their occupations. Coherent with the Communist Party's fundamental goal, they are elected for the honor of serving the people of their constituencies and of course, the country they love. They must hear the concerns of their constituents and introduce policy proposals for change as needed. The term for national, provincial and municipal Representatives is five years and for local Representatives, three years.

Most of the Representatives work hard to meet expectations and the trust placed in them, despite some who have been found guilty in recent years in the on-going anti-corruption campaign.

Let’s take the National People’s Congress (NPC), as an entry point, to understand how it is: 1) sophisticated, 2) well-functioning and 3) dynamic, and not at all the weak body Western politicians and media routinely smear it as.

Sophistication

The sophistication of the NPC comes from its close cooperation with different parties, associations and organizations. Horizontally, the annual, national session of the NPC in Beijing is organized back-to-back after the China National Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The beauty of this arrangement is that it enables patriotic parties and individuals to offer their suggestions, based on their special talents and knowledge, for social economic development in China, forming greater synergy across parties and organizations.

The CPPCC plays a significant role in advising government on issues of common concern, especially for national development. The CPPCC includes representatives from eight recognized parties such as the China Democratic League and the China Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, and Taiwan Democratic Self-government League (a political Alliance Composed of People from Taiwan Province), together with the active participation of non-partisan individuals and representatives from various people’s organizations and sectors. As everything in China is under the leadership of the Communist Party, these parties function as important, supplementary political entities and have quite powerful influence, from central government to local government. Many choose to join these parties to pursue advisory roles, instead of being responsible for oversight and implementation.

Instead of the endless shouting and accusations of each other among Western politicians and political parties, CPPCC representatives take their policy advisory role professionally and seriously and do very in-depth work before each annual Conference before the NPC. For example, for the 2026 meeting, the CPPCC received 5,992 proposals, of which 5,061 were registered and accepted for processing by the relevant government departments, focusing on formulation of the 15th Five Year Plan, consultations for which lasted two years. Additionally, some of the CPPCC representatives also are invited to participate in the NPC, attend its opening session and listen to, and comment on, the government’s annual work report.

Another example of the sophistication of the NPC comes from the wide diversity of its Representatives, rooted in society as a whole. There are 2,977 Representatives of the 14th National People's Congress elected for the 2023-2028 term, from 35 electoral units including provinces, the Army and special administrative regions. Women Representatives comprise 27%, ethnic minorities 15%, the Army and People’s Armed Police 9%, the Party and government officials 33%. What is more, all 56 ethnic groups are represented at each NPC. Although the specific number can vary from year to year, their average 14% representation at the NPC is protected by law.

In addition, the NPC also has 36 Representatives from Hong Kong, 12 from Macao, 13 from Taiwan, and 42 from among overseas returned Chinese. Such diversity aims to ensure that major issues and concerns from different groups among the 1.4 billion people of China are included and discussed in the NPC. Only 27% are re-elected from the previous NPC. No matter what you do in Chinese society, it is possible to become a Representative, even without being a party member.

Well-functioning

NPC Representatives are responsible for both legislative and oversight work, generally on a part-time, unpaid basis. Their responsibilities include deliberation on laws and national constitutional amendments, participating in the election or appointment of key state officials, taking part in inspections and oversight. They also review and comment on government annual work plans as well as on reports on national economic and social development plans and budgets, while submitting proposals, motions, criticisms and opinions regarding various aspects of the government’s work.

NPC Representatives must actively prepare their inputs and proposals, based on in-depth investigation and research such as field visits, document reviews, interviews and meetings. They must obtain first-hand information and knowledge to play their oversight function. Proposals are often strategic, to further China’s socio-economic development, while other proposals are down-to-earth, addressing people’s daily needs. Those without knowledge of Chinese society or the Chinese language cannot understand that about 90% of criticism, proposals, consultation and discussion, have been done by Representatives or groups of Representatives before each annual session even begins. Representatives attach great importance to the whole process of their five-year term; much of their work also requires additional effort from their constituencies and others, done for many months before and after the actual NPC.

When Representative meet at the annual sessions in Beijing, they focus on those issues that still require further collective effort to compromise, as well as approving the majority of measures and decisions that have already been successfully agreed in advance, either on an individual or group basis. They discuss and review the government’s work report for the year before and the national development priorities and budget for the new year, submitting inquires to the government, courts and procurators in accordance with the law. They vote on various resolutions and regulations and participate in the election and removal of leaders and members of state organs at the same level.

In 2025, NPC Representatives made nearly 8,000 suggestions by March 2025, demonstrating that representatives take the roles and responsibilities they are elected for very seriously, the whole year round. By November 2025, this had increased to 9,160 suggestions. In response to these proposals, government departments handled 8,754 suggestions from NPC representatives, with a 95.6% completion rate. While completion of thorough, formal consideration of each suggestion does not always result in its complete adoption, quite often it does, sometimes in modified form. Additionally, in 2025, the NPC and its Standing Committee (NPCSC) enacted 6 new laws and approved major changes to 13 more laws.

On March 7th, 2026, at the group meeting among Shanghai NPC representatives at the 14th NPC, a female Representative – a lawyer – proposed to re-name the country’s ‘property management’ companies ‘property service’ companies, to return to the essence of this industry. The perception that the company is the ‘manager’ and not the community ‘service-provider’ has caused confusion and strife for years at least among 30 million families. On 9th March, two days after her proposal, while the 14th NPC was still in session, the Representative received the official response that her proposal had been accepted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, which will now start work on replacing its Property Management Regulations with new Property Service Regulations. This is just a small example among many that demonstrate the effectiveness of the NPC’s work, mostly conducted in a very cordial and constructive atmosphere.

While the NPC Representatives work on improving people’s lives by accelerating construction of affordable housing, urban village renovation and upgrading of rural heating, they approved 109 major national projects in the 15th Five-Year Plan. Over 60% focus on new growth drivers such as technological innovation, modern industrial systems, national security and infrastructure. The goals are to boost new-types of productivity and key energy projects involving private enterprises.

Dynamic

The NPC is a truly dynamic political mechanism, well-accepted by the Chinese people. The ‘Two Conferences’, namely the NPC and CPPCC, are a highly significant event each year, not only for legislators and government, but for the Chinese society as a whole. One hears the phrase – ‘go to the Representatives of the People’s Congress if you have any problems’, demonstrating strong trust among ordinary people and reflecting the good work of Representatives elected at the grassroots level. Representatives of the People’s Congress deepen the roots of democratic centralism year by year through their good work in national development. Improvements of many types are easily seen and felt in daily life.

Factors that make the NPC dynamic include, but are not limited to, the NPC's constructive relationship with the other political parties under the framework of CPPCC. Secondly, NPC representatives also have developed productive collaboration with government departments for making changes needed. Thirdly, NPC representatives come from all walks of life, from scientists to farmers, from educators to workers, based on three or five-year terms and mostly not repeated, preventing large political elites from emerging in China as they have in Western countries. Over the years, the NPC has gone through great changes, but without deviating from the practice of democratic centralism. In the 99 years since Democratic Centralism was proposed, the NPC has, in fact, successfully created a whole-of-society democracy, benefiting every citizen.  

Conclusion

Democratic centralism originated from the in-depth analysis of Chinese society and its history, as well as the goals of the Communist Party.  The system emphasizes the combination of centralization based on democracy and democracy under the guidance of centralization. The NPC is the most important mechanism to promote democratic centralism. Through its diversity and relationship with the CPPCC, it is deeply rooted in people’s lives, and plays a large role in advancing social and economic development.

In China, people often say that facts speak louder than words. Politicians and media in Western countries who smear the NPC as a ‘rubber stamp’ are mostly ignorant of China. Many have never even visited it. They spin anti-China narratives for personal gain, making them up as they go along.  Lack of responsibility and accountability for their misconduct encourages such politicians and journalists to enjoy an easy ride to make their living. This indeed has become a major weakness in the Western form of democracy.

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Dr. KAN Fengmin  (China), is a retired senior official of the United Nations Secretariat, responsible for coordination of disaster response and disaster risk reduction. She served as Head of the Asia and Pacific Office of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, based in Bangkok, THAILAND, as the Head of their Africa Office, based in Nairobi, KENYA, and as Senior Coordinator in Geneva, SWITZERLAND. Before UNDRR, Dr. Kan worked for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, based in Kobe, JAPAN, coordinating UN humanitarian assistance to Asian countries affected by disasters, as well as for the United Nations Development Program, in New York, USA, and in the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC on a peace-building programme. She joined the United Nations in the Peace Mission in MOZAMBIQUE in 1993, working for the International Organization for Migration as head of their program to assist the reintegration of 115,000 demobilized soldiers. Dr. Kan has a Ph.D in Social Science from the University of Utrecht, in THE NETHERLANDS.

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