(1) China’s Legislative System

China is a unified multi-ethnic nation with a unitary political system. To ensure that the legal system remain unified and adapt at the same time to the uneven economic, political and cultural development of different areas, China practices a unified, multi-level legislative system.

--The NPC and its Standing Committee exercise the state power to make laws.

--The State Council formulates administrative regulations in accordance with the Constitution and other laws and reports them to the NPC for records.

-- In line with specific conditions and actual needs of their administrative regions and on condition that they do not violate the Constitution or other state laws and administrative regulations, the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as their standing committees, may work out local statutes and report them to the NPC Standing Committee and the State Council for records.

--The people's congresses of national autonomous areas have the power to formulate regulations concerning autonomy and local needs in light of their own local political, economic and cultural conditions.

In China's multi-level legislative system, laws promulgated at different levels have different effects. The Constitution has the highest legal validity, and no other laws, administrative regulations, local statutes, regulations concerning autonomy and local needs, or other regulations shall contravene the Constitution. State laws have greater force than administrative regulations, local statutes and regulations. State administrative regulations have greater force than local statutes and regulations.

The NPC has the power to alter or annul any inappropriate laws enacted by its Standing Committee. The NPC Standing Committee has the power to annul administrative regulations that go against the Constitution or laws concerned and revoke local statutes that contravene the Constitution, laws or administrative regulations concerned.

(2) China’s Legal System

China's legal system covers laws that fall under seven categories and three different levels. The seven categories are the Constitution and Constitution-related, civil and commercial, administrative, economic, social, and criminal laws and laws on lawsuit and non-lawsuit procedures. The three different levels are state laws, administrative regulations and local statutes.

By October 2006, the NPC and its Standing Committee had promulgated over 220 laws currently in force; the State Council had issued over 680 administrative regulations currently in force; local people's congresses and their standing committees had enacted over 7,200 local statutes currently in force; and the people's congresses of ethnic autonomous areas had enacted over 640 regulations concerning autonomy and local needs. A socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and the Constitution at its core has now taken initial shape. China now has laws governing the basic, important aspects of its political, economic, cultural and social life.

--Concerning the Constitution and Constitution-related laws, in addition to adopting the current Constitution and its four amendments, China has also enacted the Electoral Law, Law on Deputies to the NPC and to Local People's Congresses, and a number of organic laws for state organs, the Legislative Law, the Supervision Law and other laws related to state organs. China has also enacted laws concerning systems for regional ethnic autonomy, special administrative regions and grassroots-level mass self-governance: principally the Law on the Autonomy of Ethnic Minority Regions, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees and the Organic Law of Urban Neighborhood Committees.

--With regard to civil and commercial laws, China has enacted laws concerning property and personal relations between individual entities with equal standing in society. These principally include the General Principles of Civil Law, the Contract Law, the Guarantee Law, the Auction Law, the Trademark Law, the Patent Law, the Copyright Law, the Marriage Law, the Inheritance Law, and the Adoption Law. China also enacted laws concerning commercial relations between individual entities with equal standing in society: principally the Company Law, the Partnership Law, the Law on Single Investor Enterprises, the Securities Law, the Insurance Law, the Negotiable Instruments Law, the Commercial Banking Law, the Maritime law and the Trust Law.

--Concerning administrative laws, China has enacted laws concerning state administration: principally the Regulations on Administrative Penalties Concerning Law Enforcement, the Administrative Punishment Law, the Administrative Licensing Law, the National Defense Law, the Government Procurement Law, the Education Law, the Law on Scientific and Technological Progress, the Law on Preventing and Controlling Communicable Diseases and the Environmental Protection Law. China has also enacted laws related to supervision of administrative activities: mainly the Law on Administrative Supervision and the Law on Administrative Reconsideration.

--With regard to economic laws, China has enacted laws concerning macro-economic controls, principally the Budget Law, the Audit Law, the Law on the People's Bank of China, the Price Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Law on Tax Collection and Management. China has enacted laws for maintaining market order: mainly the Law against Unfair Competitions, the Law on Protection of the Rights of Consumers, the Law on Product Quality and the Advertising Law. China has enacted laws regarding expansion of opening to the outside world, principally the Law on Joint Ventures with Chinese and Foreign Investment, the Law on Sino-Foreign Contract Joint Ventures, the Law on Wholly Foreign-Invested Enterprises, and the Foreign Trade Law. China has enacted laws to promote industrial development: mainly the Agriculture Law, the Highway Law, the Civil Aviation Law, and the Electric Power Law. China has enacted laws for protecting and rationally developing natural resources: principally the Forestry Law, the Grassland Law, the Water Law, the Mineral Resources Law, and the Law on Land Management. China has also enacted laws for standardizing economic activities: principally the Maritime Law, the Statistics Law and the Surveying Law.

--Concerning social laws, China has enacted laws concerning state administration: principally the Labor Law, the Trade Union Law and the Law on Mining Safety. China has also enacted laws protecting special groups in society: mainly the Law on Security for the Disabled, the Law on Protecting Minors, the Law on Safeguarding the Rights and Interests of Women and the Law on Safeguarding the Rights and Interests of the Elderly.

--With regard to criminal law, China has enacted the Criminal Law and adopted more than 10 related supplementary decisions, amendments and legal interpretations to standardize definitions of crimes, assignment of criminal responsibility and determination of punishment.

--Concerning laws on lawsuit and non-lawsuit procedures, China has enacted laws to standardize procedures for lawsuits and other legal actions, principally the Criminal Procedures Law, the Civil Procedures Law, the Administrative Procedures Law, the Law on Special Procedures for Maritime Lawsuits, the Extradition Law, and the Arbitration Law.

To adapt to new changes brought about by the development of the market economy, overall social progress and China's entry into the WTO, China will continue to enact new laws, and to amend and improve laws currently in force to create a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics by 2010.