This book is an in-depth, comparative study of the nature of civil and commercial law and of its development in the PRC. It focuses on the very complex interrelations and interactions between Party and state policies and measures, scholars' theoretical efforts and the development of civil and commercial law, especially the development of the institutions of legal personality and of property rights in the PRC. It also analyses the underlying influences of foreign legal systems and legal theories as well as the difficulties experienced by Chinese law makers and scholars in applying these...

China has changed and the continuing changes have not just been about economic development. Among the many transformations there has been another quiet, peaceful, and largely successful (but far from perfect) 'revolution' in the area of law, whose deficiencies have been more often mercilessly examined and documented than have its historical achievements and significance. This legal 'revolution' is the subject matter of the present book. Like the previous edition in 2008, it examines the historical and politico-economic context in which Chinese law has developed and transformed, focusing on...