Ill-fitting model

Mao Keji, a research fellow at the National Development and Reform Commission's International Cooperation Center, known for his studies on India, said that countries adopting Western-style electoral systems without equivalent institutional culture often see corruption take different, sometimes more pervasive, forms.

"In India, corruption is almost part of daily life," Mao said. "It manifests in basic forms such as vote-buying. While democracy can theoretically restrain power, in underdeveloped economies people tend to sell votes cheaply, and those who gain office then use it to recover their costs through corruption."

A 2013 India Today report revealed that in Uttar Pradesh state, "over 100 institutions receiving government funds existed only on paper".

"Across South Asia, many democracies modeled on the British system have not reduced corruption through elections," he added. "By contrast, Singapore, though not considered a Western-style democracy, has achieved globally recognized clean and efficient governance."

At a deeper level, Mao argued, anti-corruption is part of national governance capacity. "Through the Eight-Point Regulation and similar measures, China has effectively curbed graft, strengthened its governance, and created favorable conditions to complete the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) while preparing the next," he said.

Wolfram Adolphi is a German political scientist who has studied China for nearly four decades.

He said he followed with great interest the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held in October. He viewed the meeting as an opportunity for China's governance concepts, namely discipline, continuity, and self-reform, to be further reflected in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

"China now undoubtedly serves as an anchor of stability in a fast-changing world," Adolphi told China Daily. "It reaps the benefits of nearly 50 years of steady modernization based on long-term planning and leadership. This consistency is rare in global politics today."

He added that the future of governance should not be framed as rivalry between systems, but as mutual learning.

"The future should be shared between all peoples," he said. "Rather than system competition, what the world needs is dialogue, exchange, and shared progress."