China's annual "two sessions," a major political event that sees a gathering of the country's national lawmakers and political advisors, will open this week.

The sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will offer a glimpse of how China's socialist democracy works.

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has spoken of socialist democracy on multiple occasions. The following are some highlights of his speeches:

— The role of the people as masters of their country constitutes the essence and core of socialist democracy.

— Without democracy, there would be no socialism, socialist modernization, or national rejuvenation.

— We must uphold the principle that all power of the country belongs to the people.

— We must expand people's democracy by improving democratic systems, enriching forms of democracy, and creating more channels for the practice of democracy, and enabling broader, orderly political participation of citizens at all levels and in all domains.

— We must uphold people's democracy and better pool people's wisdom and strength for the cause of the Party and the people.

— There are diverse ways to realize democracy, so we must not be confined to just one particular rigid model. Experience has shown that China's model of democracy is workable and effective in the country.

— Consultative democracy is an important mechanism through which the Party can lead the people in effectively governing the country and ensure that the people are the masters of the country. It complements electoral democracy.