Conclusion
China has gone a long way towards establishing the rule of law in the past three decades. Legal reconstruction in China has been subject to the (in)fusion of three schools of influence, namely traditional legal thought, socialist ideology and Westernisation.
China is clearly close to its proclaimed goal of building a comprehensive socialist legal system by 2010. It has established sophisticated legal institutions for making, interpreting and applying the law. More imporÂtantly, Chinese people are increasingly turning to the legal system for help, as is evident from the number of cases initiated every year.[154] The belief in the rule of law is taking hold in China.But measured by any standard the Chinese legal system is still less than adeÂquate. Obstacles to the rule of law seem difficult, if not impossible, to surmount, especially when it comes to citizens using the law to take on government. Judicial institutions are not independent of the ruling party. Recently, a reorientation of the judicial reform has solidified the dominant role of the CPC in the judiciary, strengthening the long-existing impression that the Partyis above the law. In the foreseeable future, the Chinese legal system can only develop to the extent that it does not become a force for political change threatening the ruling status of the CPC.