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Joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) enables China to reform its legal
order and to move towards a system incorporating major principles of the rule
of law. The WTO also serves as an external impetus that guides contemporary
Chinese legal reform and orients it in ways that domestic forces alone could
not achieve and sustain.
Much discussion on the WTO and the Chinese legal system has focused on the
issue of compliance ― whether the Chinese legal system has the capacity to
fulfill China’s WTO accession commitments. The focus of this work is less
concerned with compliance issues per se, but rather with the extent to which
the WTO’s requirements vis-à-vis China actually affect the Chinese legal
system. The fine difference between the two approaches lies in the fact that
efforts by the Chinese government to meet its WTO obligations necessarily
impact the Chinese legal order and its way of functioning, even if their end
results may or may not lead to full compliance with what is required of it by
the WTO.
This timely work exposes many behind-the-scene dealings and relies on valuable
information that is not publicly available. Not only does it preserve for the
historical record important details of the Chinese WTO accession, it also
sheds light on the travaux préparatoires of China’s accession agreement and
the negotiation history of important issues, some of which remain relevant and
highly contentious today.
As expressed by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy in his foreword to the book,
‘through this work, Esther Lam succeeds in demonstrating how WTO membership
can benefit both the acceding country and the wider WTO family of nations.’
List of Abbreviations
Foreword by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I Understanding the Chinese Legal Order
Chapter 1 Burden or Assets? Chinese Legal History at a Glance
Section I The Ancient Chinese Legal System
Section II Basic Features of the Traditional Chinese Legal System
Section III The Legal Reforms of the Early 20th Century
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 2 The Pre-WTO Chinese Legal System after 1949
Section I Communist Influence: Mao and Cultural Revolution
Section II Economic and Legal Reform under Deng Xiaoping’s Rule
Concluding Remarks
Part II China’s Long March to the WTO: Motivations, Process and Challenges
Chapter 3 Motivations
Section I Trade and Economic Considerations
Section II Non-Trade Considerations
Chapter 4 China’s WTO Accession Process
Section I The WTO Accession Mechanism
Section II An Unusual Journey - China as a Special Case
Section III Why Did It Take So Long? Major Stumbling Blocks
Chapter 5 Accession Commitments and Systemic Requests
Section I The Implementation of WTO Rules in the Chinese Legal System
Section II WTO Challenges to the Chinese Legal System
Concluding Remarks
Part III The Impact of China’s WTO Membership on the Chinese Legal System
Chapter 6 Changing Relationship between Legal Authority and Political Power
Section I Redefining the Role between the Market and the Government
Section II A Stronger Role of Law in Policy-making
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 7 Incorporating Major Rule of law Principles into the Chinese Legal
System
Section I Key Relevant Rule of Law Principles
Section II Assessment of Four Rule of law Principles in China
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 8 Challenges Ahead: Opportunities and Risks
Section I Opportunities for Positive Development
Section II Risks and Challenges
Section III Conclusion: China’s Long March Forward
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
