A few lessons the US can learn from China’s Democracy

Published:March 26,2024

By Gerald Mbanda

There is a narrative manufactured in the US and spread to other western capitals that the US and its allies represent true ‘democracy’, while other countries like China which do not subscribe to neoliberal political philosophy, are either considered as authoritarian or dictatorships. In the first place, this kind of narrative is myopic, in the sense that each country and civilization has the liberty to subscribe to a political system that best fits the contextual realities, hinged on the history, culture and aspirations. There is no standard model or one size for all type of democracy. The essence of any political system would primarily focus on improving the well-being of its people.

When the US and its allies claim they are the ‘champions of democracy’ and others are non-democratic, it’s an abuse of the right meaning of true democracy, and creates an impression that the US and its allies are the best while other civilizations are inferior to them. This is a dangerous mindset as it erodes the principle of mutual respect among nations and civilizations.

I have travelled a number of Chinese cities, from Beijing to Hangzhou, Shanghai to Xian, Chengdu, Guizhou and others, and to my amazement I did not find homeless people living on the streets like in the US! Although the US is the richest country in the world, thousands of people roam about the streets with no place to call home. This is an embarrassment which shows that the ‘champions of democracy’ have a democracy that does not provide decent living to its citizens.

According to the United States interagency Council on Homelessness, from January 2022 January 2023, homelessness increased by 12 percent bringing the figure of homeless people to 653,104. However, independent sources put the figures of homeless people in the US to millions.

Washington authorities need to take a study tour to China and find out how the country with 1.4billion people manages to provide decent accommodation, universal health care, and efficient transport systems to all its citizens. The secret lies in the democracy which delivers results that the Chinese leaders and people have embraced. China’s basic medical insurance covers more than 1.3 billion people, and basic old-age insurance covers over one billion people, making the country boast of having the world’s largest social security net. On the US side, the country is celebrating 21million people who have access to affordable healthcare out of more than 330million people. Former president Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010.

When I travelled to the western part of China in the summer of 2019, I witnessed a life changing experience for the people who lived in mountainous rural areas, being settled in beautiful apartments in the city in Guizhou. One year later, despite the negative impact of the COVID-19, China officially eradicated extreme poverty, as a result of deliberate policy actions, whose achievement so far, has no global precedent. This world example of a democracy that works.

Safety and security of the people is paramount in any given society to enjoy the liberty of democracy and to carry on their activities peacefully. China with its vast population registers near zero cases of violent crime, while in the US, more people die from gun violence than homicides or accidents. In 2023 alone, figures indicate that gun violence claimed 43,000 people in the US, 6,192 teenagers are reported shot, and 654 mass shootings took place. Gun violence and school shootings are an American epidemic that has not been controlled by Washington leaders. The U.S uses democracy as an excuse to allow human rights violations and the disintegration of its own society.

The Jim Crow Era (1890s and 1910s) in the US, was characterized by decline of political and civil rights, when Jim Crow laws introduced discriminatory systems denying Blacks and poor white Americans from voting. The Jim Crow laws seem to have gone nowhere as the US democracy serves interests of the rich minority depriving majority citizens of their basic and fundamental rights. This is a clear indicator of the US weakness of democratic breakdown.

In the 21^st century, the richest and most “democratic” country in the world still practices racial discrimination. In A survey published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of public health, 60 percent of black Americans say that they or a family member has been unfairly stopped or treated by the police because they are black, while 57 percent reported discrimination in pay and consideration for promotions.

On the Chinese side, I recently closely followed the annual Two Sessions event that brings together the National People’s Congress (NPC) and of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The issues affecting ordinary people are brought before the two sessions by the nearly 3,000 deputies to the NPC and more than 2,000 members of the National Committee of the CPPCC. Among the deputies and Members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, all ethnic groups including minorities are represented. This is democracy at work to ensure the rights for all are respected in law and practice. The unity of all the Chinese people is paramount for development as the country moves forward towards the realization of the Chinese dream.

China’s democracy stretches beyond its borders.  The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an example of the Chinese leadership thinking beyond self and their own people, but strive to share development dividends with the rest of the world. The concepts of Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI), and The Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), are a brain child of the Chinese leader Xi-Jinping aimed at creating global peace, security and development, with the aim of fostering a global community of development with a shared future. 

China embraces whole-process people’s democracy which involves more than just a matter of voting, and civil liberties to ensure that people’s rights to democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight are fulfilled. China’s democracy is people centred, making it a priority that the voice of the people is heard and their socioeconomic challenges addressed irrespective of their status or origin.

The US and China are the world’s two largest economies; together representing 40 percent of the global output and it is more beneficial for both countries, to work together rather than looking at each other as rivals. There are various lessons the US can learn from China’s democracy, and China too can borrow a leaf from the US side on what can work in their domestic context.

Gerald Mbanda is a researcher and publisher focusing on China-Africa relations and International cooperation