ABSTRACT
This chapter describes existing conceptual tools for describing, predicting, and assessing legal reforms to the efforts to establish rule of law in China, in the process shedding light on the various pathways and methodologies of reform so as to facilitate assessment of competing reform strategies. While drawing on China for concrete examples, the discussion involves issues that are generally applicable to comparative law and the new law and development movement. Horizontal metaphors are equally problematic, highlighting the Western origin of rule of law despite the fact that China embarked on legal reforms for its own purposes, driven primarily by domestic concerns. Legal reforms may also be assessed in terms of economic efficiency and wealth maximization. Some reforms may also set the stage for further development. Intermediate benchmarks are necessary to avoid unduly dismissive assessments because of disappointing progress on long term goals.
