Editors' Summary: At the heart of China's economic development boom lies the investment of an increasing number of foreign companies. China's transition to a more market-based economy, however, has brought about swift regulatory changes that serve to confound the investment community, particularly in the environmental arena. This Article seeks to alleviate this confusion by describing China's environmental regulatory regime and what it requires of foreign investment projects. An effort has been made to cover topics of particular concern to investors, such as access to regulatory information, enforcement, environmental crimes, citizen-suit and comment provisions, judicial review of administrative decisions, liability for historical contamination of land, availability of waste-disposal facilities, and basic environmental requirements for foreign investment projects.

Part I of this Article describes the scope of China's environmental legislation and the structure of the Chinese legal system. Part II provides an overview of the environmental regulatory system. Part III sets out China's environmental "legislative plan" for the period 1993-98. Part IV provides a description of particular areas of Chinese environmental law and regulation that may concern foreign investors operating or contemplating operations in China.