Chinese President Xi Jinping recognized the need for greater discourse between China's public and its governing body as he called for consultative democracy during the 65^th anniversary of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing on Sunday, according to state-owned Xinhua News agency.

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During Xi's remarks at the CPPCC event, he acknowledged the numerous ways to achieve democracy and warned against focusing efforts on a single model which could potentially hamper the development of a governing system.

Democracy means more than empowering citizens through their right to elect their own leaders. It also means allowing the people to take part in political affairs concerning the country on a daily basis, he said.

Through political advisory bodies such as the CPPCC, consultative democracy is practiced. Society can participate in meaningful discourse with China's governing body on issues related to the country's well-being and relevant to their interests, Xi said.

Broad consultation is a democratic tool used to bring together different perspectives to arrive at an informed consensus. It is expected to bring about an effective governance policy.

Moreover, dialogue can help the government find loopholes and redundancies that it would overlooked without input from the public, he said.

He vowed that the government and the Communist Party of China (CPC) would work toward the achievement of consultative democracy on a wider range of matters as possible.

Xi called on the CPC and other governing bodies to support consultative democracy and respect the public's right and opinion, noting that the Chinese government has a lot to learn from its constituents.

He urged for the development of a political system that would encourage the exchange the ideas beginning at the grass-roots level and improve the transparency of local and judicial governments to facilitate dialogue.

Separately, Xi also stressed the importance of solidarity and unity to support the CPPCC's fundamental goal of pooling wisdom and strength to achieve a wide consensus. He hopes the body will continue to offer concrete suggestions to promote deepening reforms on issues most relevant to the Chinese people.

The 65^th CPPCC anniversary event was presided over by CPPCC National Committee Chairman Yu Zhengsheng.

The CPPCC aims to facilitate political consultation and discussion in handling state affairs, and ensure democratic oversight.

TagsConsultative Democracy, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC