BEIJING - China did not duplicate Western models of democracy, but created its own, according to a white paper released Saturday.

Titled "China: Democracy That Works," the white paper was released by the State Council Information Office.

The original aspiration of China's democracy was to ensure the people's status as masters of the country, said the white paper.

China has created and developed whole-process people's democracy in line with its national conditions. This is a form of democracy with distinctive Chinese features which at the same time reflects humanity's universal desire for democracy, said the white paper.

Whole-process people's democracy has fueled the development of the country and driven the revitalization of the nation. It has contributed a new model to the international political spectrum, said the white paper.

China must devise the most suitable form of democracy in accordance with its characteristics and realities. This is a basic principle China adheres to for developing democracy, said the white paper.

To develop its democracy, China has always drawn wisdom and strength from its 5,000-year-old culture and fine traditions, said the white paper.

Humanity's quest for and experiments with greater democracy will never end, it said.

The true barrier to democracy lies not in different models of democracy, but in arrogance, prejudice and hostility towards other countries' attempts to explore their own paths to democracy, and in assumed superiority and the determination to impose one's own model of democracy on others, it added.