Every day, thousands of Chinese citizens flock towards Beijing's State Bureau for Letters and Calls, hoping to submit petitions over their grievances over illegal land requisitions, unpaid wages, insufficient social welfare protection or a denial of access to justice in their local courts. The long queue of petitioners is a physical reminder of a flawed legal system, which can still rely more on power or the sympathy of an influential official, than a consistent, systematic application of the law. No doubt, legal reform is urgently required to safeguard the rights of people and enhance social justice. However, another reason for reform, is the need to provide a rational, consistent, and certain legal environment in which foreign companies can feel confident to do business.

One Australian mining company's public complaints about the lack of enforcement of contracts suggests a growing frustration amongst some companies trying to do business in China. Perth-based Mount Gibson Iron claims it had to be bailed out after a major mainland customer, Rizhao Steel, failed to honour its contracts to pay for iron ore shipments. And despite an Australian arbitrator ordering Rizhao Steel to pay A$144 million worth of damages, Mount Gibson has still yet to receive that money. It has not gone without notice that Rizhao Steel is one of the largest taxpayers in Rizhao and so those local authorities, including the court, it has been argued, may be hesitant to enforce the arbitration awards.

In spite of the many economic reforms which have secured China's position as the worlds second largest economy within a few decades, foreign companies are still left with considerable anxieties about doing business in China, mostly because of the uncertainty of the legal system and its lack of transparency. China has already shown that it is capable of becoming an economic force with the ability to engage with the rest of the world to resolve global issues. But unless its legal system is reformed to provide greater certainty and security for both its people and foreign companies, the nation will not realise its full potential.