For example, constitutional amendments to enhance the formal status of private property and to include former president Jiang Zemin’s views of China’s emerging capitalists reflect and support deepening integration with the worldwide market economy. deLisle and Cheng also pointed to developments in the constitution’s article on “special administrative regions” and provisions underpinning China’s 2005 Anti-Secession Law. These illustrate China’s rigorous defense of its territorial sovereignty and the limits to Beijing’s commitment to autonomy for Hong Kong and, prospectively, Taiwan.

The two China scholars don’t expect the Chinese constitution to become a binding document overnight, but they predict an eventual shift toward a more robust rule of law, even in foreign affairs.

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