In the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislator is beefing up efforts to work out new legislation that fits the rules of the WTO and the Chinese Government's commitments to the global trade club.

The Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee - the nation's top legislature - will further improve economic and administrative legislation to better regulate the government's macro-control of the national economy, according to Li Fei, director of the research department of the commission.

Li said they are now working on draft laws on anti-monopoly, anti-dumping and counter-vailing as well as the draft amendment to the law on counter illicit competition.

The legislative body will also work on legislation on administrative approval, administrative charging methods and administrative compulsory measures to rein in public administration bodies, he added.

The efforts to renovate the nation's legal system had actually started before it joined the WTO at the end of last year.

"Like other members of the WTO, China has guaranteed the uniform, just and reasonable implementation of WTO rules and China's commitments to the WTO through drafting, revising and abolishing related laws and regulations," said Cao Kangtai, director of the Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council, China's cabinet.

China has revised 14 laws and 37 administrative regulations, abolished 12 administrative regulations, stopped the execution of 34 pieces of outdated internal documents, and drafted, revised or abolished more than 1,000 pieces of departmental regulations or policy measures.

However, China's first year in the WTO has spelt both challenges and opportunities for lawyers. "There is an obvious growth of business in such areas as counter-vailing, anti-dumping and non-tariff barriers," said Li Jingbing, attorney with ZY & Partners.

Li attributed the changes to the increase in cases involving China, both as plaintiffs and defendants.

Local law firms have benefited from the upsurge of Chinese investment in the overseas market. There are new business prospects for Chinese lawyers in intellectual property rights cases, which under the amended laws on copyrights and patents can now be handled by courts, according to Li.

China made the commitment upon entering the WTO to remove the quantitative and geographic bans on foreign law firms. This locks the nation's some 9,000 law firms into fiercer competition in the legal services market.

But Li also warned that local law firms are facing a brain drain in the face of the competition with overseas law firms.

(China Daily December 11, 2002)