But the idea that this agreement is going to change China's political system I think is a fantasy. We have to know that change in China can only come very slowly. It took centuries for the rule of law to evolve in the West, and it's going to take a very long time for China to make greater progress towards legality. But entry into the WTO ought to provide momentum to legal reforms that have been ongoing. The members of the WTO have to agree to provide uniform, impartial and reasonable systems of law making.
China has to agree in a protocol of accession to do what is necessary to meet the treaty standard.
If and as China does what it's supposed to do, then improvements in the Chinese legal system ought to benefit Chinese as well as foreigners. So for its own reasons, it has been implementing some laws that have begun to take some effect. Also, the consciousness of those laws and of rights under those laws is beginning to spread slowly in China. Drew Liu, people have been waiting since Nixon's visit to China for economic liberalization to bring political liberalization in its wake, and a lot of people have been disappointed in that expectation. Well, rightly so because China is such a big elephant.