The "Whole Process" in Whole-Process People’s Democracy

As early as September 2014, in a speech at a conference marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, President Xi Jinping mentioned the concept of the “whole process” in China’s democracy, emphasizing that “consultative democracy is deeply embedded in the whole process of China’s socialist democracy.”

On November 2, 2019, during an inspection of the Gubei Community Center in Changning District, Shanghai, President Xi further clarified this concept, stating, “We are following the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics. Our people’s democracy is a whole-process democracy, where all major legislative decisions are made in accordance with procedures, subject to democratic deliberation, and the result of a rigorous democratic decision-making process.” 

Our people’s democracy is characterized as “whole-process” because all major decisions made by the Party and the state, including legislative decisions, are based on established procedures and democratic deliberation. Every decision is the product of a rigorous democratic process. This comprehensive approach thus embodies the concept of “whole process.”

The drafting of the documents of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee epitomized whole-process people’s democracy in action. On November 27, 2023, the Central Committee issued a notice about soliciting opinions on the agenda of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee from all localities, departments, and sectors, as well as some officials and individuals. 

On May 7, 2024, the text of the resolution was issued to select Party members, including retired senior Party officials, for consultation. Opinions were also sought from the central committees of other political parties, from leaders of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, from prominent figures without party affiliation, and from relevant enterprises, scholars, and experts. The drafting group carefully studied these opinions and suggestions, incorporating as many as possible, which led to 221 revisions to the document. 

Just as President Xi pointed out, “Throughout the drafting process, we have taken a democratic approach in order to draw on a vast pool of wisdom.” He also stated, “The localities, departments, and sectors consulted have also made many valuable suggestions on the theme and framework of the draft, as well as major reform measures to be included. This has provided us with an important reference for drafting the resolution.”

So why is the emphasis placed on the "whole process"? A statement by President Xi Jinping can help us gain a deeper insight into the thinking behind this. He has stated that "If the people are only woken up at voting time and then return to hibernation afterward, if they only hear grandiose slogans during campaigns but have no voice once voting is over, and if they are pandered to when votes are being canvassed but left out in the cold once the tallies are complete, then they are not living in a true democracy." In other words, a democracy that only grants people the right to vote, but no right to participate in any other way after elections, is incomplete and flawed.

Whole-process people’s democracy integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people’s democracy with the will of the state. As such, it is democracy in its broadest, most genuine, and most effective form. It constitutes a comprehensive democratic chain that links all stages, including democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight. It is multi-dimensional democracy that permeates all levels and sectors of our country’s political and social life, and it is all-encompassing democracy that incorporates all undertakings and work of the state. The integration and synthesis of all these elements is what defines whole-process people’s democracy, which is the result of the CPC’s major theoretical and practical achievements in leading the people to promote socialist political advancement in the new era.

Editor: Yi Xiaowei