Xi praises CPC rule, says multi-party democracy promotes nasty competition
As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to solidify his rule with an unlimited tenure, he was all praise for the one-party system furthered by the ruling Communist Party saying that it prevented rotation of power and "nasty competition" among political parties in a multi-party democracy.
The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) is "a great contribution to political civilisation of humanity," Xi told delegates from some of the small political parties which functioned in low key manner under the shadows of the CPC.
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," state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.
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.
Chinese leaders in the past have vowed not to ape the western political systems.
Xi was speaking at a joint panel discussion on Sunday with "political advisors" from the China Democratic League and the China Zhi Gong Party, those without party affiliation and those from the sector of returned overseas Chinese, at the first session of the advisory body the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Xinhua report said.
His comments came as the Chinese Parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), began its two week long annual session today with a legislative agenda which included ratifying a constitutional amendment removing the two-term rule for the President and Vice President.
The rule followed by the CPC for over two decades to prevent dictatorial ruler emerging from the ranks as well as to promote collective leadership effectively removes the last hurdle for 64year-old Xi to continue beyond the end of his second term in 2023 and possibly for life.
Xi is already regarded as the most powerful leader of China after Chairman Mao Zedong as he held the posts of head of the CPC, the military and the Presidency.