China and Globalization Economic and Legal Changes in the World System

This article focuses on the process of China's increasing connections with other nations within the global system and analyzes the impact of these global connections on China's economic development and domestic legal and economic systems. We suggest that China's reaction to globalization can be analyzed by reference to a mixture of modernization theory and the world system perspective. We further examine the forces behind China's decision to join the World Trade Organization and discuss crucial ways in which the Chinese government and legal system have been pressured or have elected to adopt international standards in order for the country to become a key player in the global marketplace.