Asia-Pacific Handbook

In 1978, when the Open Door Policy and Economic Reform were proclaimed in the People‘s Republic of China, there were no civil and criminal codes, no procedural laws, no contract, corporations and no trade laws. The 1978 State Constitution still echoed the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution slogans and recognised revolutionary committees as forms of local government with wide economic and administrative functions. Twenty-three years later, the National People‘s Congress (China‘s Parliament) and its Standing Committee have passed major basic laws, its State Council (Government) administrative regulations and local congresses thousands of rules. The 1982 State Constitution recognises the role of foreign investment, a socialist market economy and a state rule by law. It provides a hierarchy of law making powers. A Chinese legal system could and has come into existence. This volume brings together legislation and regulation which all people interested in politics, law, trade, social as well as cultural developments need to know to navigate the ways and by-ways of the Chinese.