Democratic institutions against the background of China’s economic development: the change in the delegate composition of the Yangzhou municipal people’s congress

ABSTRACT This research examines the impact that China’s economic development has had on the political system that shapes the CCP-led single-party regime. In pursuit of this inquiry, this research focuses on the delegate composition in the people’s congress – China’s democratic institution. Previous research argues that China’s democratic institutions contribute to the stability of the single-party regime. However, when considering political functions of those democratic institutions, it does not give sufficient consideration to the possibility that the system itself and its political functions might change over the time. By analyzing 20-year materials of five consecutive terms from 1998 to 2018 on the delegates to the people’s congress of Yangzhou city in Jiangsu province, this research observes the changes in the delegate composition.