There has been a tremendous flow of new laws and regulations in China since the adoption of an open door policy in 1978. Access to these laws and regulations has been very much limited for businessmen and lawyers without a knowledge of the Chinese language. Although major legislation has been translated into foreign languages, it has been extremely difficult to find a translation of subordinate legislation. Moreover, the quality of these translations has not always been satisfactory.

The situation has gradually improved in recent years. Some collections of laws and statutes on foreign trade and investment have become available in English. These include: Victor F. S. Sit (ed.), Commercial Laws and Business Regulations of the People’s Republic of China (Vols. I—III), Hong Kong (1984); and F. D. Chu, M. J. Moser and O. D. Nee Jr. (eds.), Commercial and Business Laws of the People’s Republic of China, New York (1985) (two volumes, looseleaf, 1985). Also the Compilation of Foreign Economic Laws and Regulations edited by the Treaties Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relation and Trade of China was translated into English in 1986.

In China, laws adopted by the supreme legislative body (the National People’s Congress) tend to be fairly general, merely providing for a basic framework of the system. “Subordinate legislation” which is enacted by the State Council and various levels of administrative agencies is more significant. In this respect, the scope of laws and regulations included in the above-mentioned three publications was rather insufficient. The Commercial and Business Laws collection, edited by Dr Chu and others, is the most comprehensive among them. It covers major laws and some administrative rules as well as regulations enacted by the authorities of the Special Economic Zones.

The Statutes and Regulations of the People’s Republic of China, newly published by the University of East Asia, goes further. In total, 410 laws and regulations are compiled in chronological order. It includes not only basic laws concerning foreign trade, such as the Law on Enterprises Operated Exclusively with Foreign Capital and the Foreign Economic Contract Law, but also rules for implementation of the laws and various regulations and notices of administrative agencies, together with some local regulations. Some of them have previously not been readily accessible in English. Furthermore, in contrast to other compilations of legislation, this new publication includes laws not directly concerned with foreign trade and investment. Thus, Inheritance Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and the General Principles of Civil Law, etc., are translated here. Considering the fact that regulations enacted by local governments often play a crucial role in negotiating joint ventures and other forms of foreign investment, it might have been better if more local regulations had been included, but this may be too demanding. It should be added that, with the assistance of the China Law Society of the People’s Republic of China, the translation seems to be accurate, appropriately reflecting the meaning of the Chinese legal terms.

Another advantage of this compilation is its detailed index. It is often very difficult for foreigners to locate the right laws concerning a specific matter, since many subject-matters