Since the reform and opening up, Chinese people's concept of democracy has become more mature, and the practice of democracy in China has become more pluralistic. Conceptually, there has been an evolution from a single view of democracy, in which democracy is about elections, to a pluralistic form of democracy. In terms of democratic practices, the findings of this study are that dominant forms of democracy have emerged in each decade: in the 1980s, it was electoral democracy that was popular but also proposed mechanisms for social consultation and dialogue, or what is known today as consultative democracy; in the 1990s it was spontaneous grassroots democracy, i.e., village-based self-governance; in the first decade of the 21st century, it was top-level intra-party democracy as well as spontaneous network democracy, i.e., participatory democracy; from 2012 to 2022, the direction is to build a comprehensive and multi-level consultative democracy. The changes in perceptions and institutions demonstrate the importance of democracy in Chinese politics and the inherently democratic nature of Chinese politics. The democracy that the Chinese seek is necessarily a " governable democracy," which requires a " capable and limited government" to modernize national governance. This study contributes to a new perspective on Chinese democracy.

Yang Guangbin is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Renmin University of China, a Distinguished Professor of the Changjiang Scholar of the Ministry of Education, Vice President of the Institute of National Development and Strategic Studies at Renmin University of China, and Vice President of the Chinese Political Science Association. His research interests include social science methodology, political science theory, contemporary Chinese politics, comparative politics, and domestic political economy and foreign relations.