This article explores how discourse, deliberation and difference functions in an authoritarian environment, with an emphasis on the experiences of contemporary China. The article articulates why authoritarian discourse and deliberation is more limited than its Western democratic counterpart. It further suggests that the incorporation of difference into authoritarian discourse and deliberation is difficult due to the inherent tensions between the ‘Other’ and the ruling elite in authoritarian polities. Nevertheless, these constraints do not invalidate the notion that public discourse and deliberation is theoretically possible and has a practical function in authoritarian regimes.