National People’s Congress Deepens External United Front Work

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Seminar for Parliamentarians from Pacific Island Countries, December 2023. (Source: NPC Propaganda and Education Net.)

Executive Summary:

  • The National People’s Congress (NPC) actively engages in diplomatic exchanges with foreign legislative bodies as part of the Party’s united front strategy. This work aims to build a favorable international environment for the PRC’s “One Belt One Road” initiative and its concept of a “Community of Common Destiny for Mankind.”
  • Deepening ties with foreign legislatures can help directly influence other countries’ policies toward the PRC, including on issues like Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as export PRC-style national security legislation abroad.
  • The NPC’s outreach includes sharing legislative information and experiences on managing foreign NGO activities, regulating “foreign media representatives,” and safeguarding data sovereignty, and is conducted through inviting politicians to the PRC for seminars and other programs.

On October 22, 2024, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC; 全国人民代表大会) Standing Committee Peng Qinghua (彭清华) delivered remarks at the Seminar for Parliamentarians from Central Asian Countries and Pacific Island Countries (中亚国家和太平洋岛国议员研讨班), stating that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is “willing to strengthen cooperation between legislative bodies with relevant countries to create a favorable legal and policy environment for common development, prosperity, and the building of a community of common destiny for mankind (愿同有关各国密切立法机构间合作，为实现共同发展繁荣、构建人类命运共同体营造良好法治与政策环境)” (China’s Diplomacy in the New Era, October 23).

More than 60 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from five Central Asian countries and nine Pacific Island nations attended the event. Seminars like this, usually hosted by the NPC, are part of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) united front strategy to achieve its goal of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through official country-to-country relationship building.

The NPC, like all the other governmental organs in the PRC, is responsible for carrying out united front work. In 1954, Mao Zedong told delegates at the first session of the first NPC that their overall mission was to “unite the people of the entire country and strive for the support of all international friends” (PRC Central Government, March 6, 2008). In May 2015, NPC leadership took part in the Central United Front Work Conference, where CCP Chairman Xi Jinping emphasized that united front work is the work of the whole party and that united front operations are for “strengthening the power of collective efforts (壮大共同奋斗的力量)” (Xinhua, May 20, 2015). This remains true across all levels of people’s congresses in the PRC. For instance, in August 2022, the head of Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress stated that the People’s Congress is “a political body under the Party’s leadership,” and as such has the “political responsibility to carry out united front work effectively” (Guangdong People’s Congress Standing Committee, August 20, 2022).

The NPC’s external affairs work is significant because the Party considers it an official channel that the Party can use for relationship building. This could have a direct influence on the legislation of other countries and could create an ideal international environment to protect the Party’s political interests and push its preferred narratives (China Law Society, June 11). In August 2024, at the “Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the NPC Affiliation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Sixth Interregional Seminar on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for Parliaments of Developing Countries (全国人大加入各国议会联盟40周年纪念活动暨第六次发展中国家议员研讨班)” in Beijing, Xi stated that “exchanges between legislative bodies are an important part of relations between countries” and that “legislative institutions have the responsibility and capability to play an active role in building equal and trusting state-to-state relations, expanding mutually beneficial development cooperation, promoting open and inclusive exchanges and mutual learning, and advancing fair and just global governance, thereby making a unique contribution to the building of a community of common destiny for mankind” (Guangzhou Communist Youth League, August 20).

Through legislative exchanges, the Party advocates for the PRC’s proposals, with the intention of achieving their acceptance and support by the international community. These include the “One Belt One Road” initiative (OBOR; “一带一路”倡议), the building of a Community of Common Destiny for Mankind (构建人类命运共同体), the Global Development Initiative (GDI; 全球发展倡议), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI; 全球文明倡议), and the Global Security Initiative (GSI; 全球安全倡议), and its narratives such as the “One China Principle” (People’s Daily, March 16, 2023). In June 2024, the Foreign Affairs Bureau Director of the NPC Standing Committee also signaled that legislative exchanges and cooperation in the field of national security should be promoted, including sharing legislative information and experiences on managing foreign NGO activities, regulating “foreign media representatives,” and safeguarding financial security, information security, and data sovereignty (China Law Society, June 11).

The NPC’s external work includes relationship building with foreign legislatures and their members by enhancing international engagement through diverse channels, expanding parliamentary diplomacy across regions, and organizing educational programs (Jilin People’s Congress Standing Committee, May 10). This includes using exchange mechanisms, friendship groups, specialized committees, and working bodies, as well as encouraging NPC representatives to participate in foreign exchanges. As Li Zhanshu (栗战书), former chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, stated in 2023, “The mechanism of regular exchanges and friendship groups are unique advantages of the NPC’s foreign affairs work” (People’s Daily, March 16, 2023). For example, on October 15, Li’s successor Zhao Leji (赵乐际) met with the President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines. Zhao mentioned the recovery of PRC-Australia relations and emphasized the critical role of legislative exchange for future engagements (NPC, October 15).

Between 2019 and 2023, the NPC held 35 exchange meetings with 16 parliaments, including the European Parliament, and established 136 bilateral friendship groups. The NPC also launched collective external letter-writing campaigns to parliaments around the world in the name of its parliamentary friendship groups, explaining the necessity of the Hong Kong National Security Law and opposing the politicization of tracing the origins of the coronavirus (China Daily, March 8, 2023; HK01, March 1, 2021).

The NPC actively participates in the activities of multilateral parliamentary organizations, such as the G20 Speakers Summit, the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, and the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments to expand parliamentary diplomacy in different regions. In March 2024, at the IPU assembly where over 150 international legislators were present, the vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee reiterated Xi’s proposal of GDI, GSI, and GCI and called on the legislators to play a greater role in safeguarding world peace and promoting mutual understanding (People’s Daily, March 27). In July 2024, the NPC had an exchange meeting with the president of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) Silvia García Polanco. Zhao Leji commended PARLACEN for adhering to the “One China Principle” by replacing Taiwan with the PRC as a permanent observer in August 2023 and emphasized that the Taiwan issue is the core of the PRC’s core interests. The delegation responded that they would support the PRC’s unification of Taiwan (People’s Daily, July 24). Zhao stated at the NPC in March of this year that this incident was the outcome of the NPC’s external affairs work (NPC, March 14). Between 2019 and 2023, the NPC sent delegations to 65 international conferences and attended 137 online conferences (People’s Daily, March 16, 2023).

The NPC also hosts educational programs for legislators and congressional staffers to increase understanding and build consensus. At the “Sixth Interregional Seminar on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for Parliaments of Developing Countries” in August, which was attended by over 160 parliamentary leaders and representatives from 32 countries, Zhao Leji again emphasized Xi’s three global initiatives and OBOR. He told the attendees that to implement the initiatives and further cooperate, the parliaments should “respect each other’s core interests,” “oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs,” and “advocate for a security concept based on common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable principles” (China Co-op, August 23). The seminar also demonstrated the Party’s own concept of “democracy” (Xinhua, August 30). Between 2023 and 2024, the NPC hosted in-person seminars for 95 legislators from 23 countries (NPC, March 14)

The NPC’s external efforts to build relationships with parliaments across the world are a component of the Party’s united front work. While congressional exchanges with the NPC are generally seen as official channels associated with the state rather than the Party, they still are used to promote the Party’s initiatives. By cultivating relationships with legislative bodies worldwide, the Party aims to not only extend its preferred narratives and advance its political interests, but also push for other countries to model national security and other legislation on its own. In doing so, it advances its own influence while preserving its own regime security.