After a record seven hearings, China's first Property Law is to be submitted to the annual full session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, for approval this March.

Through the law-making process marred by heated debates, the concept of property is taking root in Chinese society. The law's formulation, considered of equal importance to the adoption in 2004 of the constitutional provision saying that "a citizen's lawful private property is inviolable," marks the beginning of a new era in China when private and public rights are equally protected.

The achievement is hard won. Due to China's long insistence on Soviet ideology after the People's Republic was founded in 1949, the legal status of private ownership had been denied over a lengthy period of time. In the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated in 1986, the term "property" was omitted and replaced by the phrase "property ownership and related property rights."

Recognition of property is a pillar of civil laws. It points to respect for and protection of individual possessions. So the first formal use of the word "property" in a legal sense can be seen as a significant breakthrough in the country's ideology.

Over the past two decades, profound changes have taken place in Chinese society as a result of the sweeping economic restructuring. The previous centrally planned economic structure based on sole public ownership has been transformed into a market-orientated one, featuring the coexistence of various types of ownership. The proposal, drafting and deliberation of the Property Law coincided with the process of installing the market economy in China and benefited from the two important constitutional amendments in 1999 and 2004. These amendments recognized the legal status of the non-public economy and private property, respectively. Its presence demonstrates the great progress China has made in the past 20-plus years.

The ongoing reform and opening-up drive has brought an evident change in Chinese attitudes toward personal wealth. As people are encouraged to get rich through honest labor, their lawful private property deserves strict legal protection. This is of vital importance to the overall realization of human rights.

The controversy over the Property Law had once focused on what is the prime target of its protection-right to private belongings or public assets. After repeated revisions, in light of the guideline put forward by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2003 to ensure market players of all kinds enjoy equal legal status and development rights, the draft law now stipulates, "the state practices a socialist market economy" and "the state, collective and private property rights, and property rights of other obligees, are protected by law and brook no violation of entity or individual." Many other clauses in the law share a similar sentiment.

Since the public's awareness of property ownership is still in its infancy, the incoming law has to cater to the current conditions of the country. For example, though it emphasizes equal protection of public and private ownership, several stipulations in previous versions have been softened or removed due to a lack of consensus. Also, elaboration on some key concepts is somewhat vague.

Nevertheless, the formulation of the Property Law represents a significant step forward in China's efforts to build a society ruled by law.