From China Elections and Governance:
Unlike former Soviet Union’s economic and political models, socialist economy with Chinese characteristics is market economy; socialist politics with Chinese characteristics is democratic politics. Therefore, steadfastly adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics not only include pushing forward economic marketization, but also pushing forward political democratization.
These two objectives and tendencies are logically and inextricably linked with each other. Market economy’s basic relationship is equal contractual relationship based on the free choices of the agents in the market. In this sense, market economy is a type of economic democracy; it gives economic activities democratic form and order. If to say politics is the concentrated expression of economy, then such economic democracy will inevitably demand political democracy, and it will also certainly develop into a political democracy. In other words, socialist market economy constitutes an actual basis for developing socialist democracy. [Full Text]
