Full Text: Explanation on China´s draft property law

Source: Xinhuanet | 03-08-2007 14:21

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the Explanation on the Draft Property Law of the People's Republic of China delivered by Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC here on Thursday:

Explanation on the Draft Property Law of The People's Republic of China

(Delivered at the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress on March 8, 2007)

Wang Zhaoguo

Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Fellow Deputies,

Entrusted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, I now make an explanation on the Draft Property Law of the People's Republic of China.

1. The Necessity of Enacting the Property Law

The property law is a basic civil law that serves to regulate property relationships and adjust civil relationships stemming from attribution and use of things, and it involves defining the property of the State, the collective, individual and other obligees and protecting the property.

China's General Principles of the Civil Law, Land Administration Law, Law on the Administration of the Urban Real Estate, Law on Land Contract in Rural Areas, Guaranty Law, etc., include not a few provisions on property, which have played an important role in economic and social development. As the reform deepens, the opening-up extends and the socialist economy, politics, culture and society moves forward, in order to meet the requirements of materializing in an all-round way the scientific concept of development and building of a socialist harmonious society, it is necessary to enact a property law, in accordance with the Constitution and on the basis of our experience gained through practice, to stipulate for questions of a general character in the property system and questions in real life calling for urgent regulation, thus further defining the attribution of things to avoid disputes, bring into full play the usefulness of things, protect the property of the obligees and improve the Chinese-style socialist property system.

Enacting the property law is necessitated by the need to uphold the basic socialist economic system. Keeping public ownership dominant and having the economic sectors of diverse forms of ownership develop side by side constitute the basic socialist economic system of the State in the primary stage of socialism. Enactment of the property law will serve to define the scope of State-owned property and collective-owned property and the exercise of State ownership and collective ownership and strengthen protection of State-owned and collective-owned property, and will be conducive to consolidating and developing the economic sector of public ownership; and it will serve to define the scope of private property and protect private property in accordance with law, which will be conducive to encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the economic sector of non-public ownership.

Enacting the property law is necessitated by the need to regulate the order of the socialist market economy. Clear-cut definition of property and fair competition are the basic requirements for developing the socialist market economy. Enactment of the property law will serve to confirm the attribution of things, specify the contents of ownership. Usufruct and security rights, ensure the equal legal status of the various market subjects and their right to development and protect the property of the obligees in accordance with law -- all this will play an important role in developing the socialist market economy.

Enacting the property law is necessitated by the need to safeguard the immediate interests of the people. As the reform and opening-up and the economy develop, people's living standards have improved in general, and they urgently require effective protection of their own lawful property accumulated through hard work, of the right to land contractual management they enjoy in accordance with law, and of their other lawful rights and interests. Enactment of the property law will serve to define and protect private ownership, condominium right, right to land contractual management and house-site-use right, for the purpose of protecting the immediate interests of the people, stimulating their vigor to create wealth and promoting social harmony.

Enacting the property law is necessitated by the goal of establishing a Chinese-style socialist legal system by 2010. Property law is an important component part of the civil code. playing the role of a prop in the Chinese-style socialist legal system. Enactment of the property law provides an important step taken within the term of the current National People's Congress for giving a basic shape to the Chinese-style socialist legal system.