China has seen immense economic and social changes since the mid-1990s. Companies are raising huge amounts of money in domestic and overseas stock offerings; China has joined the World Trade Organization; citizens have unprecedented freedom in their private lives; courts are under increasing pressure to handle politically sensitive cases; and the government struggles to maintain order and authority in an increasingly fractious society. This special issue of the China Quarterly assembles both Western and Chinese scholars to examine the legal dimensions of these changes, showing both how far the legal system has come and the challenges that lie ahead.