Professor Liu systematically expounded the core essence of the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, stressing that it represents the historical choice of the Chinese people through generations of struggle since modern times and is the inevitable requirement for upholding the Party’s essential nature and fulfilling its fundamental purpose. His lecture unfolded from three major dimensions: theoretical foundations, institutional system, and democratic practice.
First, regarding the theoretical foundation and essential requirements, Liu emphasized that the unity of the Party’s leadership, the people’s position as masters of the country, and law-based governance constitutes the intrinsic requirement of China’s political development path. Party leadership is the fundamental guarantee, the people’s mastery is the essential feature, and law-based governance is the basic strategy; together they are integrated into the great practice of socialist democracy. Liu noted: “The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the backbone and soul of China’s political life.”
Second, turning to the institutional system and democratic forms, Liu explained that China has developed a “framework of four pillars and eight beams,” with the people’s congress system as the fundamental political system and the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the system of grassroots self-governance as its basic political systems. The combination of electoral democracy and consultative democracy constitutes a distinctive advantage of China’s democratic politics. Liu stressed: “Consultative democracy, rooted in China’s soil, is a new form of democracy that seeks the greatest common divisor of social will through the principle that ‘matters concerning the people are discussed by the people.’”
Third, Professor Liu elaborated on the practical innovation of whole-process people’s democracy. He explained the profound connotations of this major concept and told students to remember the “three alls,” for “if you remember these today, this class will have been worthwhile.”
All-chain: connecting democratic election, consultation, decision-making, management, and oversight, ensuring the people are always “present”;
All-directional: covering all fields—economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological—and integrating into all levels of national governance;
All-inclusive: guaranteeing the lawful participation of all citizens in state governance so that “no one is left behind.”
Citing Xi Jinping’s statement that “democracy is not an ornament, but a means to solve the problems of the people,” Liu emphasized that the core of Chinese democracy lies in its effectiveness.
Professor Liu further highlighted the wisdom and global contribution of China’s political development path. He underscored that China provides a new paradigm for human political civilization: breaking the Western discourse hegemony equating democracy with electoral procedures, proposing a “four criteria” approach to evaluating democracy (people’s participation, fulfillment of commitments, institutional effectiveness, and power oversight), offering reference for developing countries to explore democracy suited to their national conditions, and promoting the democratization of international relations through the practice of a community with a shared future for mankind.
In conclusion, Professor Liu called upon young scholars to recognize their historical mission and deepen their sense of responsibility. He encouraged the PhD students: “Young scholars must root their research in China’s political practice and tell the story of Chinese democracy well. Shenzhen, as a frontier of whole-process people’s democracy, provides vivid cases of theoretical innovation—its model of ‘Party building guiding grassroots governance’ is a fertile field worthy of in-depth study.”
