The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress

Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China

No.31

The Law on Legislation of the People’s Republic of China which has been adopted at the 5th Session of the 7th National People’s Congress
on March 15, 2000 is promulgated now, and shall enter into force as of July 1, 2000.

Jiang Zemin, President of the People’s Republic of China

March 15, 2000

Law on Legislation of the People’s Republic of China ContentsChapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Laws

Section 1 Scope of Lawmaking Authorities

Section 2 The Legislative Process of the National People’s Congress

Section 3 The Legislative Process of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress

Section 4 Interpretation of Laws

Section 5 Other Provisions

Chapter III Administrative Regulations

Chapter IV Local Regulations, Autonomous Regulations, and Rules

Section 1 Local Regulations, Autonomous Regulations, and Special Rules

Section 2 Administrative and Local Rules

Chapter V Scope of Application and Filing

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1

This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution in order to standardize lawmaking activities, to perfect state legislative
institutions, to establish and perfect the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, to safeguard and develop socialist
democracy, to promote the governance of the country through legal mechanisms, and to build a socialist country under the rule of
law.

Article 2

The enactment, amendment and repeal of any law, administrative regulation, local regulation, autonomous regulation or special rule
shall be governed by this Law.

The enactment, amendment and repeal of administrative rules promulgated by departments of the State Council and local rules promulgated
by local governments shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.

Article 3

Lawmaking shall follow the basic principles of the Constitution, center around economic development, follow the socialist road, adhere
to democratic dictatorship by the people, adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, adhere to Marxism, Leninism and
Mao Zedong thought and Deng Xiaoping theory, and be consistent with reform and opening up to the outside world.

Article 4

Lawmaking shall be conducted in conformity with legally- prescribed scope of authority and procedure, and shall serve the overall
interests of the state and preserve the uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system.

Article 5

Lawmaking shall reflect the will of the people, promote socialist democracy, and ensure the participation of the people in lawmaking
in a variety of ways.

Article 6

Lawmaking shall be based on actual circumstances, and shall, in a scientific and reasonable way, prescribe the rights and obligations
of citizens, legal persons and other organizations, and the powers and duties of state organs.

Chapter II Laws

Section 1 Scope of Lawmaking Authority

Article 7

State legislative power shall be exercised by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee.

The National People’s Congress enacts and amends criminal, civil, and state organic laws and other basic laws.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacts and amends laws other than those that shall be enacted by the National
People’s Congress; during the period of prorogation of the National People’s Congress, the Standing Committee thereof may make partial
amendments and supplements to the laws enacted by the National People’s Congress, but such amendment or supplement shall not contravene
the basic principles of the corresponding laws.

Article 8

Laws may be enacted only in respect to matters regarding:

(1)

state sovereignty;

(2)

the establishment, organization and authority of the People’s Congresses, People’s Governments, People’s Courts and People’s Procuratorates
at all levels;

(3)

the autonomy of ethnic regions, governance of special administrative regions, and autonomy at the grass-root level;

(4)

crimes and criminal punishment;

(5)

deprivation of the political rights of citizens, or compulsory measures and penalties that restrict personal freedom;

(6)

expropriation of non-state assets;

(7)

basic civil systems;

(8)

fundamental aspects of the economic system and fundamentals concerning fiscal, taxation, customs, finance and foreign trade;

(9)

litigation and arbitration systems;

(10)

other matters for which laws must be enacted by the National People’s Congress or its Standing Committee.

Article 9

In the event that no law has been enacted with respect to a matter mentioned in Article 8 hereof, the National People’s Congress
and its Standing Committee may authorize the State Council to enact administrative regulations concerning the relevant matters as-needed,
except in matters relating to crime and criminal punishment, deprivation of citizens’ political rights, compulsory measures and penalties
restricting a citizen’s personal freedom , and the judicial system.

Article 10

The authorizing decision shall specify the objective and scope of the authorization.

The organ so authorized shall exercise its power in strict compliance with the objectives and scope of the authorization, and shall
not re-delegate its authority to any other body.

Article 11

In matters covered by an authorization, if conditions are ripe for the enactment of a law, the National People’s Congress or the Standing
Committee thereof shall enact a law in a timely fashion. Upon the enactment of the law, the relevant authorization of lawmaking authority
with respect to the matter accordingly shall be terminated.

Section 2 The Legislative Process of the National People’s Congress

Article 12

The president of the National People’s Congress may propose a bill to the National People’s Congress for deliberation in the current
session.

The State Council, the Central Military Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and all special
committees of the National People’s Congress may propose a bill to the National People’s Congress, which shall be placed onto the
agenda of the current session by decision of the presidium.

Article 13

A delegation may propose, or a group of not less than 30 delegates may jointly propose, a bill to the National People’s Congress,
and the presidium shall decide whether to place such bill on the agenda of the current session, or whether to refer such bill to
the special committee on deliberation, and such special committee shall recommend whether such bill shall be placed on the agenda
of the current session, whereupon the presidium shall decide whether or not to place the bill on the agenda of the current session.

In the course of deliberation on the bill, the special committee may invite the bill sponsor to offer comments and suggestions during
the deliberation session.

Article 14

During the period of prorogation of the National People’s Congress, a motion may be made to the Standing Committee which shall, after
deliberation according to the procedure stipulated in Section 2 of Chapter 3 of this Law, forward the motion to the National People’s
Congress for decision, whereupon the Standing Committee or the bill’s sponsor shall make statements to the plenary session.

Article 15

In cases where the Standing Committee has decided to submit a bill to the upcoming session of the National People’s Congress for deliberation,
the bill in draft law form shall be distributed to the delegates one month prior to the commencement of the session.

Article 16

In cases where a bill has been put on the agenda of the current session of the National People’s Congress, the plenary session shall,
after hearing the statements of the bill sponsor, forward the bill to the delegations responsible for deliberation.

In the course of deliberation of the bill by the delegations, the bill sponsor shall send representatives to hear comments and answer
questions.

In the course of deliberation of the bill by the delegations, relevant agencies or organizations shall send representatives to make
statements to the delegation upon request by a delegation.

Article 17

A bill that has been put on the agenda of the current session of the National People’s Congress shall be deliberated upon by the relevant
special committee, which shall then submit its opinions to the presidium for distribution to the session’s delegates.

Article 18

For a bill that has been put on the agenda of the current session of the National People’s Congress, the Legislative Committee shall,
on the basis of the opinions of the relevant delegations and the special committees, conduct a general deliberation on the bill,
and afterwards shall submit to the presidium a deliberation report and amended draft law. The deliberation report shall include statements
of important differences in opinion and, after being deliberated by the presidium, shall be distributed to the session’s delegates.

Article 19

For a bill which has been put on the agenda of the current session of the National People’s Congress, the executive chairman of the
presidium may, where necessary, convene a meeting of delegation leaders to hear the deliberation opinions of all delegations on key
issues of the bill, and to hold discussions. The discussions and suggestions concerning key issues shall be reported to the presidium.

The executive chairman of the presidium may also call a session of the relevant delegates selected by the delegations to discuss important
special issues contained in the bill, and shall report its discussion and suggestions to the presidium.

Article 20

If, a bill sponsor requests withdrawal of a bill that already has been put on the agenda of the current session of the National People’s
Congress but that has not yet been brought to a vote, then the bill sponsor shall explain his request; once the presidium has given
consent to the request and so reported its decision to the plenary session, then deliberation over the bill shall terminate accordingly.

Article 21

If, in the deliberation of a bill, there are key issues that need to be studied further, the Standing Committee may, upon the suggestion
of the presidium and the consent of the plenary session, be authorized to conduct further deliberations based on the opinions of
the delegates, make a decision and report its decision to the next session of the National People’s Congress. The Standing Committee
may also be authorized to hold further deliberations according to the opinions of the delegates, and put forward an amendment plan
for deliberation and decision by the next session of the National People’s Congress.

Article 22

After deliberation by the delegations, the amended draft law shall be further amended by the Legislative Committee based on the opinions
of the delegations during deliberation; the Legislative Committee shall present a version of the draft law so that the presidium
may make a case to the plenary session for adoption based on simple majority vote of all delegates.

Article 23

A law enacted by the National People’s Congress shall be promulgated by presidential order signed by the President of the state.

Section 3 The Legislative Process of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress

Article 24

The caucus of chairpersons may propose a bill to the Standing Committee for deliberation.

The State Council, the Central Military Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and all special
committees of the Standing Committee may propose to the Standing Committee that a bill be put on the agenda of the current session
of the Standing Committee by the caucus of chairpersons, or propose a bill to the special committees for deliberations; a report
shall be submitted by the special committee to the caucus of chairpersons which decides whether to put it on the agenda of the upcoming
session of the Standing Committee. If the caucus of chairpersons is of the opinion that substantive issues concerning the billrequire
further study, it may suggest that the bill sponsor make revisions first, and then submit the revised bill to the Standing Committee.

Article 25

Ten or more members of the Standing Committee may jointly propose a bill to the Standing Committee, and the caucus of chairpersons
shall decide whether to put the bill on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee, or whether first to refer it to the
relevant special committees for deliberation and comment before deciding whether to put it on the agenda. When the decision is made
not to put the bill on the agenda of the current session of the Standing Committee, the caucus of chairpersons shall submit a report
to the Standing Committee or provide an explanation to the bill sponsor.

In the course of deliberation, the special committee may invite the bill sponsor to the session to provide comments.

Article 26

For a bill which has been put on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee, unless special circumstances arise, the draft
law shall be distributed to all the members of the Standing Committee seven days prior to commencement of the session.

Article 27

A bill which has been put on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee, in general, shall be deliberated three times at
the sessions of the Standing Committee before being put to vote.

During the first deliberation, the Standing Committee hears the statements of the bill sponsor and refers the bill to seminars for
preliminary deliberation.

During the second deliberation, the Standing Committee hears the report of the Legislative Committee concerning amendment and major
issues concerning the draft law, and refers the bill to seminars for further deliberation.

During the third deliberation, the Standing Committee hears the report of the Legislative Committee concerning the result of the deliberation
over the draft law and refers the amended draft law to the seminars for deliberation.

In the course of deliberation, the Standing Committee may, if necessary, convene joint seminars or plenary sessions to discuss the
key issues of the draft law.

Article 28

A bill that has been put on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee may be brought to a vote after two deliberations by
the Standing Committee if a general consensus has been reached. A bill that partially amends a law may be brought to vote after one
deliberation by the Standing Committee if a general consensus has been reached.

Article 29

In the course of deliberation by the seminars of the Standing Committee, the bill sponsor shall send representatives to hear comments
and answer questions.

In the course of deliberation by the seminars of the Standing Committee, relevant agencies or organizations, if requested by a subgroup,
shall send representatives to brief the subgroup.

Article 30

A bill that has been put on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee shall be deliberated by the relevant special committee
in order to formulate opinions for distribution at the session of the Standing Committee.

During the deliberation of the bill, the relevant special committee may invite members of other special committees to the session
to provide comments.

Article 31

In cases where a bill has been placed on the Standing Committee’s agenda, the Legislative Committee shalldeliberate on the basis of
the opinions expressed by members of the Standing Committee, the opinions of the relevant special committee and of all sides, and
shall deliver a report concerning the amendment, or the result of deliberation, and the amended draft law; the report shall include
a statement of the major differences in views. If any opinion of importance expressed by a relevant special committee is not adopted,
then the Legislative Committee shall provide feedback to the special committee.

In the course of deliberation, the Legislative Committee may invite members of the relevant special committee to the session to give
comments.

Article 32

During the deliberation process, a special committee shall convene a plenary session for deliberation, and, where necessary, may request
that relevant agencies or organizations dispatch personnel in charge of relevant issues to make statements.

Article 33

When different opinions arise among the special committees on a key issue concerning the draft law, the committees shall report such
differences to the Caucus of Chairpersons.

Article 34

When a bill has been placed on the agenda of a session of the Standing Committee, the relevant special committees and the working
office of the Standing Committee shall hear the comments of all sides by way of symposia, demonstrations, hearings, etc.

The working office of the Standing Committee shall distribute the draft law to the relevant agencies, organizations and experts for
comments, and shall prepare them for submission to the Legislative Committee and the relevant special committees, and, where necessary,
distribute them among the participants of the current session of the Standing Committee.

Article 35

An important bill that has been put on the agenda of the Standing Committee may, upon decision of the Caucus of Chairpersons, be presented
to the public for comments. The comments presented by the various agencies, organizations and citizens shall be submitted to the
working office of the Standing Committee.

Article 36

For a bill that has been put on the agenda of the session of the Standing Committee, the working office of the Standing Committee
shall collect and sort out the comments of all sides made at group deliberations, and, where necessary, shall distribute them to
the current session of the Standing Committee.

Article 37

If the sponsor of a bill that has been put on the Standing Committee agenda requests withdrawal of such bill before it is brought
to a vote, the bill sponsor shall state the reason, and deliberation of the bill shall terminate after the Caucus of Chairpersons
has granted its consent and reported to the Standing Committee.

Article 38

If, after three deliberations by the Standing Committee session, major issues still require further study, a vote on the bill may
be suspended if so proposed by the Caucus of Chairpersons and upon the consent of the joint group session or plenary session, but
such proposal must be submitted to the Legislative Committee and the relevant special committees for further deliberation.

Article 39

If the deliberation on a bill that has been put on the Standing Committee agenda has been suspended for two years due to major discrepancies
on major issues, such as the necessity or feasibility of its enactment, or if the suspension of voting has exceeded two years and
the bill has not been placed anew on the Standing Committee agenda, then the Caucus of chairpersons shall submit a termination of
bill deliberation report to the Standing Committee.

Article 40

The revised version of a draft law shall, upon deliberation by the Standing Committee, be amended by the Legislative Committee based
on comments made by the Standing Committee in order to formulate a version endorsed by the Caucus of chairpersons to be voted upon
in the plenary session of the Standing Committee. The bill shall be adopted if more than half of the votes cast by all the members
of the Standing Committee are affirmative.

Article 41

A law passed by the National People’s Congress shall be promulgated by presidential order signed by the state president.

Section 4 Interpretation of Law

Article 42

The power to interpret law shall be vested in the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress shall issue interpretations of a law when any of the following circumstances
occurs:

(1)

the specific meaning of the provision of a law requires further clarification;

(2)

after the enactment of such law, a new situation arises so that clarification of the rationale underlying its application is needed.

Article 43

The State Council, the Central Military Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, all special committees
of the Standing Committee and the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of all provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-
governed municipalities may make a request for legislative interpretation to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Article 44

The working office of the Standing Committee shall research and formulate draft legislative interpretations to be put on the agenda
of the forthcoming session of the Standing Committee upon decision of the Session of Chairpersons.

Article 45

After deliberation by the Standing Committee, a draft legislative interpretation shall be deliberated and amended by the Legislative
Committee on the basis of comments made by members of the Standing Committee in order to formulate a version of legislative interpretation
for voting purposes.

Article 46

The draft legislative interpretation put to a vote shall be adopted if affirmed by more than half of all members of the Standing Committee,
and shall be promulgated by the Standing Committee by way of a public announcement.

Article 47

Legislative interpretations issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress shall have the same force as law.

Section 5 Other Provisions

Article 48

When a bill is proposed, the text, comments on the draft bill and, when necessary, other relevant materials shall be submitted concurrently.
Comments on the draft law shall also elucidate the necessity for its enactment and its main contents.

Article 49

A bill proposed to the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee may be withdrawn by the bill sponsor prior to the bill’s
being placed on the agenda of the forthcoming session.

Article 50

Where a bill proposed to the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee fails to be adopted by vote at the plenary session,
and the bill sponsor still deems it necessary to enact such legislation, he may propose it anew in accordance with legal procedures.
The presidium or the Session of Chairpersons shall decide whether the bill is to be put on the agenda; specifically, if a bill fails
to be adopted by the National People’s Congress, it shall be proposed to the National People’s Congress for deliberation and decision.

Article 51

A law shall specify the date of its implementation.

Article 52

The presidential order for the promulgation of a law shall set forth the enactment organ, and the dates of adoption and implementation.

After a law is signed and promulgated, it shall be published in timely fashion in the Bulletin of the Standing Committee of the National
People’s Congress and in nationally-circulated newspapers.

The version of the law printed in the Bulletin of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress shall be considered the
official version.

Article 53

The procedure for amendment and repeal of a law shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter.

Where a law is partially amended or repealed, a new version shall be published.

Article 54

A law may consist of Parts, Chapters, Sections, Articles, Paragraphs, Items, and Sub-items as appropriate for the law’s contents.

The numbers for Parts, Chapters, Sections, and Articles are to be expressed sequentially in Chinese characters, while Paragraphs are
not to be numbered; items and sub-items are to be numbered sequentially in Arabic numbers.

The caption of a law shall set forth the organ of enactment and the date of promulgation.

Article 55

The working office of the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress may handle inquiries regarding a specific aspect of a law,
issue responses, and submit same to the Standing Committee for record.

Chapter III Administrative Regulations

Article 56

The State Council enacts administrative regulations in accordance with the Constitution and law.

An administrative regulation may prescribe any of the issues mentioned below:

(1)

matters that demand the enactment of an administrative regulation for the purpose of implementing a law;

(2)

matters subject to the administration of the State Council under Article 89 of the Constitution.

For a matter for which a law should have been enacted by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, the State Council
may, according to the enabling decision of the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, formulate an administrative
regulation instead. If such an administrative regulation proves viable in practice, when necessary conditions for enacting a relevant
law arise, the State Council shall, in timely fashion, propose such enactment to the National People’s Congress and its Standing
Committee.

Article 57

An administrative regulation shall be drafted by the State Council. Where a relevant agency of the State Council deems it necessary
to enact an administrative regulation, it shall apply to the State Council for relevant arrangements to be made.

Article 58

In the process of drafting an administrative regulation, the drafting body shall hear the opinions of the relevant agencies, organizations
and citizens through panel discussion, feasibility study meeting, hearing, etc.

Article 59

Upon completion of a draft administrative regulation, the drafting body shall submit the draft regulation and corresponding commentaries,
opinions from all sides concerning the key issues of the draft regulation, and other relevant materials to the legislative affairs
organization of the State Council for inspection.

The legislative affairs organization of the State Council shall submit to the State Council an inspection report along with a revised
version of the draft; the inspection report shall elucidate the major issues of the draft regulation.

Article 60

The enactment procedure for administrative regulations shall comply with the relevant provisions of the Organization Law of the State
Council of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 61

An administrative regulation shall be promulgated by way of an order of the State Council signed by the Premier.

Article 62

After being signed and promulgated, an administrative regulation shall be published in timely fashion in the State Council Bulletin
and nationally-circulated newspapers.

The version appearing in the State Council Bulletin shall be considered the official version.

Chapter IV Local Regulations, Autonomous Regulations and Special Rules, and Rules

Section 1 Local Regulations, Autonomous Regulations and Special Rules

Article 63

The People’s Congress of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government and the Standing Committee
thereof may, according to the specific circumstances and actual needs of the jurisdiction, enact local regulations provided that
such enactment does not contravene any provision of the Constitution, laws or administrative regulations.

The people’s congresses and standing committees thereof of comparatively large cities may, according to the specific circumstances
and actual needs of the jurisdiction, enact local regulations provided that they do not contravene any provision of the Constitution,
laws, administrative regulations or local regulations in force in the province or autonomous region in whose jurisdiction the city
is situated, for implementation upon approval by the standing committee of the People’s Congress of the province or autonomous region.
The standing committee of the People’s Congress of the province or autonomous region shall review the legality of a regulation submitted
to it for approval, and shall grant approval within four months if such regulation does not contravene any provision of the Constitution,
laws, administrative regulations, and the local regulations in force in the province or autonomous region in which the city is situated.

If, in the course of reviewing a local regulation submitted by a comparatively large city for approval, the standing committee of
the People’s Congress of the province or autonomous region finds it in contradiction with a local rule of the people’s government
of the province or autonomous region, it shall have authority to decide how to handle such situation.

For the purposes of this Law, a comparatively large city refers to a city where the people’s government of the province or autonomous
region is situated, or a city where a special economic zone is situated, or any other city so approved by the State Council.

Article 64

A local regulation may specify the following:

(1)

matters for which enactment of a local regulation is required in light of actual circumstances of the jurisdiction for the purpose
of implementing a law or administrative regulation;

(2)

matters of local concerns for which enactment of a local regulation is required.

Apart from those mentioned in Article 8 of this Law, a province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government
or a comparatively large city may, according to the specific situation and actual demands of the locality, make local regulations
for those matters for which no laws or regulations have been enacted. When a law or administrative regulation is enacted by the state
and becomes effective, any provision of the local regulations that contravenes such law or administrative regulation shall be invalid,
and the enacting body shall amend or repeal such provision in a timely fashion.

Article 65

The People’s Congress or its standing committee of a province or a city where a special economic zone is located shall, pursuant to
an enabling decision issued by the National People’s Congress, enact regulations for implementation within the special economic zone.

Article 66

The People’s Congress of an autonomous ethnic region has the power to enact autonomous regulations and special rules according to
the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the ethnic groups in the region. An autonomous regulation or special rule
enacted by an autonomous region shall come into force after it is reviewed and approved by the Standing Committee of the National
People’s Congress. An autonomous regulation or special rule enacted by an autonomous prefecture or autonomous county shall come into
force after it is reviewed and approved by the standing committee of the People’s Congress of the province, autonomous region, or
municipality directly under the central government.

An autonomous regulation or special rule may be flexible provisions of a law or administrative regulation, so long as such flexible
provisions do not contravene the basic principles thereof, but such autonomous regulations or special regulations shall not be flexible
provisions of the Constitution, laws or administrative regulations specifically enacted for the ethnic autonomous region.

Article 67

A local regulation concerning matters of special importance of the jurisdiction shall be adopted by the People’s Congress of the jurisdiction.

Article 68

In accordance with the organization law of the People’s Republic of China concerning the local People’s Congress and people’s gov