The contract law(Adopted at the Second Session of the Ninth National Peoples Congress on March 15, 1999 and promulgated by Order No. 15 of the President of the Peoples Republic of China on March 15, 1999)ContentsGeneral ProvisionsChapter I Common ProvisionsChapter II Making of the ContractChapter III Validity of the ContractChapter IV Fulfillment of the ContractChapter V Modification and Transfer of the ContractChapter VI Termination of Rights and Obligations under the ContractChapter VII Liability for Breach of ContractChapter VIII Miscellaneous Provisions Specific ProvisionsChapter IX Purchase and Sale ContractsChapter X Contracts for the Supply and Consumption of Electricity, Water, Gas or HeatChapter XI Donation ContractsChapter XII Loan ContractsChapter XIII Lease ContractsChapter XIV Contracts for Financial LeaseChapter XV Work ContractsChapter XVI Construction Project ContractsChapter XVII Carriage ContractsChapter XVIII Technology ContractsChapter XIX Contracts of DepositChapter XX Warehousing ContractsChapter XXI Entrustment ContractsChapter XXII Brokerage ContractsChapter XXIII Intermediation ContractsSupplementary ProvisionsGeneral ProvisionsChapter I Common ProvisionsArticle 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to contracts, maintaining the socio-economic order and promoting the socialist modernization.Article 2 For the purpose of this Law, a contract means an agreement on the establishment, alteration or termination of a civil right-obligation relationship between natural persons, legal persons or other organizations as subjects with equal status.Agreements on establishing such personal relationships as marriage, adoption and guardianship shall be governed by the provisions of other laws.Article 3 The parties to the contract have equal legal status, and neither party may impose its will on the other.Article 4 The parties shall, pursuant to law, have the right to enter into a contract on their own free will, and no unit or person may unlawfully interfere.Article 5 The parties shall observe the principle of equity in defining each others rights and obligations.Article 6 The parties shall observe the principle of good faith in exercising their rights and fulfilling their obligations.Article 7 The parties shall, in making and fulfilling the contract, abide by laws and administrative regulations and respect social ethics, and may not disrupt the socio-economic order nor impair social and public interests.Article 8 A legally executed contract has legal binding force on the parties. The parties shall fulfill their obligations as contracted, and may not arbitrarily modify or terminate the contract.A legally executed contract is protected by law.Chapter II Making of the ContractArticle 9 The parties shall, when making a contract, have corresponding capacity for civil rights and civil conduct.A party may, in accordance with the law, entrust an agent to make a contract.Article 10 The parties may, when making a contract, use written form, verbal form or any other form.The written form shall be adopted if laws or administrative regulations so require. The written form shall be adopted if the parties so agree.Article 11 Written form as used herein means any form which renders the information contained in a contract capable of being reproduced in tangible form such as a written agreement, a letter, or electronic text (including telegram, telex, facsimile, electronic data interchange and e-mail).Article 12 The content of a contract is determined by the parties and generally includes the following clauses:(1) designations or names and addresses of the parties;(2) the targeted matter;(3) quantity;(4) quality;(5) price or remuneration;(6) time, place and mode of fulfillment;(7) liability for breach of contract; and(8) dispute settlement.The parties may make contracts with reference to various model contract forms.Article 13 The parties shall, in making a contract, take the form of offer and acceptance.Article 14 An offer is an intent indication showing the desire to enter into a contract with others, and the intent indication shall conform to the following provisions:(1) the content indicated shall be concrete and definite;(2) the offeror shall, as is indicated, be bound by the intent indication upon its acceptance by an offeree.Article 15 An invitation for offer is an intent indication showing the desire to receive offers from others. Mailed or delivered price catalogs, auction announcements, invitations for bid, capital-raising prospectus and commercial advertisements are such invitations for offer.A commercial advertisement shall, if its content conforms to the provisions regarding offers, be deemed an offer.Article 16 An offer becomes effective when it reaches the offeree.If a contract is made in the form of text