This book, a collection of articles on the title subject, is an updating of the original 1984 edition, with some new contributions. Like the successful 1984 edition, it is a standard work which should be in the library of every student, teacher, and practitioner in the field. Many of the contributors are, like the editor, experienced practitioners familiar with China and able to handle Chinese-language materials. This alone sets the book apart from the many “analyses” produced by lawyers, Chinese and foreign, who do little more than restate statutory provisions in their own words.

A list of all 18 chapter titles would be tedious. The topics covered, however, include overviews of trade regulation, the legal framework for foreign investment, taxation, technology transfer, the Special Economic Zones, representative offices, contract law, intellectual property, arbitration, and finance.

Most of the contributions are of high quality. Many make frequent reference to the practical aspects of a given problem, demonstrating the authors’ awareness that in China the law on the books is often very far removed from actual practice. Disappointingly, the least helpful contribution in this regard comes from the one Chinese contributor, who ought to be the best informed. In the course of an uncritical analysis of Chinese statutory provisions relating to jurisdiction, the author, borrowing a Chinese phrase in wide circulation, informs us that “the people’s courts adhere strictly to the principle of taking facts as the basis and the law as the criterion” (p. 544). This is sloganeering, not analysis. The most cursory reading of the Chinese legal press would show that Chinese judges can be as venal, cowardly or incompetent as judges elsewhere.

A particular strength of the book lies in the detailed documentation provided in the footnotes to most of the contributions. This is very useful to the reader who wishes to know whether or not an author is simply guessing on some point, or who wishes to do further research. An unfortunate (and unnecessary) weakness which may irritate many readers is the lack of a systematic citation to English translations (or even to original Chinese texts) of the many laws and regulations discussed in the book. Some authors provide such references and some do not. A lengthy table of legislation provided as an appendix is of limited value as a research tool because the reader has no idea where to find the laws, the English and Chinese texts of which will often be scattered over a wide range of books and periodicals. As the authors presumably have the texts in front of them when they write, could they not tell the rest of us where to find them too?

As is inevitable with books on Chinese law, it will date quickly. One month before the February 1988 publication date, for example, China repealed the Procedures for the Examination and Approval of Technology Import Contracts, cited on p. 116 and elsewhere, replacing them with the Rules for the Implementation of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China for the Administration of Technology Import Contracts. Similarly, one author’s statement that “assignment of [a joint venture’s] interest [in land] to third parties is not permitted” (p. 114) must now be qualified. Shenzhen, Fuzhou, and Shanghai (and probably more cities by the time this is published) all have regulations purporting to allow the