In an apparent dig at liberal democracy, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in October that if people are awakened only for voting, but then enter a dormant period and have no say or are left out in the cold after the election is over, that is not true democracy.

On the other hand, China's brand of democracy, the whole-process people's democracy, "is a full-process, all-around, and full-coverage democracy, and is the broadest, most genuine, and most effective socialist democracy", he proclaimed at a conference on work related to people's congresses, or legislatures.