President Xi Jinping Sunday called the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) "a great contribution to political civilization of humanity." [Special coverage]
It is "a new type of party system growing from China's soil," said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, when attending a joint panel discussion with political advisors from two non-communist parties, those without party affiliation and those from the sector of returned overseas Chinese, at the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Xi said the system is new because it combines Marxist political party theories with China's reality, and truly, extensively and in the long term represents fundamental interests of all people and all ethnic groups and fulfills their aspiration, avoiding the defects of the old-fashioned party system which represents only a selective few or the vested interest.
The Chinese system is new, Xi said, because it unites all political parties and people without party affiliation toward a common goal, effectively preventing the flaws of the absence of oversight in one-party rule, or power rotation and nasty competition among multiple political parties.
The Chinese system is new, Xi said, also because it pools ideas and suggestions through institutional, procedural, and standardized arrangements and develops a scientific and democratic decision making mechanism.
It steers away from another weakness of the old-fashioned party system, in which decision making and governance, confined by interests of different political parties, classes, regions and groups, tears the society apart, he said.
Fitting China's reality and fine traditional culture, it is "a great contribution to political civilization of humanity," he said.
Xi said upholding the CPC leadership was not meant to do away with democracy.
Instead, it aims to create a form of democracy that is broader and more effective, he said.
