Rule Of Law In China: Progress And Problems. Lin Li

economic restructuring is to establish and improve the socialist market economy system, with public ownership and the system of distribution according to work playing a dominant role, and different economic sectors and modes of distribution developing alongside. It set the overall reform goal, that is, building a socialist market economy. Accordingly, great importance shall be attached to legal construction, legislative work shall be strengthened, and a legal system for the development of a socialist market economy shall be established and improved, especially speeding up to formulate and improve laws and regulations that can guarantee reform and opening-up, strengthening macroeconomic management and regulate microeconomic behaviors. All is pressing for the establishment of the socialist market economy system.

      In 1993, as China’s reform and opening-up deepened, amending the Constitution once again became an urgent task. In March 1993, the First Session of the Eighth NPC passed Amendment to the Constitution, which included the establishment of socialist theories with Chinese characteristics, reform and opening-up, and the socialist market economy in the form of the fundamental law. Amendment to the Constitution set the status of socialist market economy in the Constitution, marking that China had begun to improve various economic laws and regulations based on the Constitution, totally incorporating market-oriented reform into the Constitution-centered legal system. Practice has proven that the two modifications in 1988 and 1993 played an important role in promoting and guaranteeing China’s reform and opening-up and modernization. To safeguard the authority and stability of the Constitution, China began to adopt the method of deliberating and promulgating Constitutional Amendments and appended them to the text of the Constitution since 1988.

      In March 1993, the First Session of the Eighth NPC passed a constitutional amendment, expounding that China was in the initial stage of socialism, and it set as a form the fundamental law constructing the theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, insisting on reform and opening-up and the socialist market economy. This would be conducive to proceeding from the actual conditions in regard to building the country; it is conducive to attracting foreign investment and introducing advanced science and technology to serve China and promote the development of the productive forces. Determining the position of the socialist market economy in the Constitution means that China began to consummate various economic laws and regulations based on the Constitution on a large scale so as to fully incorporate market-oriented reforms into the constitutional system. Practice proved that these two amendments in 1988 and 1993 played an important role in promoting and safeguarding China’s reform and opening-up as well as its modernization drive. In order to defend the authority and stability of the Constitution, China has started to adopt the method of deliberating and promulgating Constitutional Amendments and appended it to the text of the Constitution since 1988.

      In November 1993, the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC National Congress clearly put forward for the first time the basic framework for the socialist market economy, that is, “establishing a modern enterprise system that adapts to the needs of the market economy and is characterized by clear property rights and power and responsibilities, separation of governments and enterprises as well as scientific management”, thus promoting the reform of China’s state-owned enterprises toward the direction of straightening out property relations and achieving a modern enterprise system. Such a revolution showed a leverage for two tasks in China’s economic restructuring, that is, separating governments and enterprises and transforming the enterprises’ operational mechanisms. The two tasks cannot be achieved without a complete set of legal system that adapts to the operation of a modern enterprise system, including Corporate Law, Securities Law, Financial Law, and Bankruptcy Law. One key point in the framework of a socialist market economy is to establish the framework for the socialist market economy’s legal system.

      In 1996, the Fourth Session of the Eighth NPC enacted “Nine Five Year Plans” on National Economy and Social Development and Objectives for 2010, which prescribed the contents of “ruling the country by law and building a socialist country based on the rule of law” in the form of a document with the efficacy of national law for the first time. Meanwhile, heated discussions on the rule of law occurred in the law circle, which focused on “legal system” and “rule of law”.

      In 1997, the 15th National Congress of the CPC set the principle of ruling the country by law as the basic policy for the Party to lead the people in administering the country and establishing a socialist country ruled by law as the goal of democratic politics. Ruling the country by law is the Party’s basic policy of leading the people in administering the country. It is an objective requirement for the development of a socialist market economy, an important symbol of the progress of social civilization, and an important guarantee for the country’s lasting peace and stability. In March 1999, the constitutional amendment passed at the Second Session of the Ninth NPC included the guiding ideological status of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the basic policy of governing the country according to law, the basic economic system and distribution system of the state at the present stage, and the important role of the non-publicowned economy in the Constitution, making governing the country in accordance with the law a basic constitutional principle. China is a country with a long history of feudalism, and therefore historically lacked the tradition of democracy and the rule of law. It is a historic leap in setting the rule of law as a basic policy of governing the country and replacing the rule of man with a legal system and eventually with the rule of law.

      In 2002, the 16th National Congress of the CPC made it clear that the most fundamental task in developing socialist democratic politics was to unify organically the efforts of upholding the Party’s leadership and the people being masters of the country and governing the country according to law. The leadership of the Party is the fundamental guarantee for the people to be masters of the country and governing the country according to law. It is the essential requirement of the socialist democratic politics that the people are masters of the country, whereas governing the country according to law is the basic policy for the Party to lead the people in governing the country.

      In 2004, the Second Session of the 10th NPC passed the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment highlights the concept of “people-oriented” and the principle of guaranteeing human rights and makes modifications and improvements on many important systems prescribed by the Constitution. In particular, it includes important contents into the Constitution, such as the “Three Represents”, respecting and guaranteeing human rights and protecting legitimate private property. And it reconfirms significant achievements of theoretical innovation and practical development of reform and opening-up in the form of the fundamental law.

      In 2007, the 17th CPC National Congress worked out strategic plans on future democratic and legal construction, and put forward the general task of comprehensively implementing the rule of law and accelerating the building of a socialist country governed by law. These plans and tasks demanded scientific and democratic legislation to improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. This Congress suggested to strengthen the implementation of the Constitution and laws, ensure that everyone is equal before law, maintain social justice and fairness, and safeguard the unity, dignity, and authority of the socialist rule of law, and called for promoting law-based administration of government, deepening reform on the judicial system, and strengthening the construction of procuratorial and judicial teams. It also called for increasing legal publicity and education and spreading the spirit of the rule of law, and urged to respect and guarantee human rights and safeguard the authority of the Constitution and laws.

      In March 2011, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, announced in his work report to the Fourth Session of the 11th NPC on the work of the Standing Committee of the NPC that the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics took shape as scheduled. This legal system, based on China’s national conditions and reality and adapting to the needs of reform and opening-up and socialist modernization, embodies the will of the Party and the people, and is an organic integration of the related laws of the Constitution, civil and commercial laws, and other legal branches, with the Constitution in the supreme place, the laws as the main body, and administrative and local regulations as the major components. It is a legal foundation for socialism with Chinese characteristics to retain its nature, a legal reflection of the innovative practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a legal guarantee for the prosperity of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Its establishment