Deliberation with Chinese Characteristics: A Tale of Two Chinese Cities’ Participatory Budgeting Experiences

Woo investigates examples of the Chinese government using methods normally associated with deliberative democracy to involve their citizenry in decision-making at a sub-national level.

Despite the tightening of civil society under Xi there are still some opportunities for the Chinese people to articulate their opinions and participate in decision-making. The proliferation of deliberative democratic practices is motivated by the Communist Party of China's (CCP) strong governance logic, to strengthen regime legitimacy and stability. Woo examines deliberative participation through the lens of participatory budgeting in China, and investigates its impact on local governance. To make sense of this model of deliberative democratic governance in China, she unpacks the relationship between deliberative democracy and governance. This requires delving into the forms and functions of deliberation with Chinese characteristics, especially to show how they depart from the Western deliberative democratic experiences. What is the Chinese deliberative discourse in relation to the Western conception of deliberative democracy? How can the Chinese deliberative experience contribute to the concept of deliberative governance? How does deliberation impact upon local governance in China?

An intriguing read both for scholars of Chinese politics and for political scientists looking at comparative examples of deliberative governance.

Su Yun Woo is Post-Doctoral Researcher in Chinese Politics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.