International Construction Law Review
CORRESPONDENTS’ REPORTS: MAINLAND CHINA
RICO CHAN
Baker R Mackenzie, Hong Kong and Beijing
AN UPDATE
There were some major legal developments in the construction industry during the last three-quarters of 1999, namely:
- 1. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Contracts was promulgated on 15 March 1999 and entered into effect on 1 October 1999. It applies to all types of construction contracts in China.
- 2. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Invitation and Submission of Bids was promulgated on 30 August 1999 and entered into effect on 1 January 2000. Its main regulatory focus is on government and state-owned enterprise projects.
- 3. A flurry of national regulations on government procurement have been enacted, including the Provisional Measures on Administration of Government Procurement, the Provisional Measures on Invitation and Submission of Bids in Government Procurement, the Provisional Measures for Supervision of Contracts in Government Procurement. These government procurement regulations are applicable both to the procurement of general merchandise as well as to the procurement of construction works and services.
- 4. On 15 November 1999 the US and Chinese governments concluded the long-awaited China-US Bilateral Agreement on China’s Accession to the WTO. The terms of the Agreement have not yet been fully released and so the exact impact of the Agreement on China’s construction industry is still uncertain.
NEW CONTRACT LAW
Overview
The Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China (“New Contract Law” or “NCL”) was promulgated by the National People’s Congress on 15 March 1999 and entered into effect on 1 October 1999. NCL repeals and replaces three pre-existing pieces of contract legislation, namely: the 1982 Economic
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