How did China’s shift toward a market-oriented economy increase the need for lawyers?

China’s transition from a planned economy to a market-oriented economy necessitated a significant increase in the number of lawyers to facilitate new forms of commercial interaction.1

In the previous planned system, commercial partners were assigned administratively, and disputes were resolved by higher-level officials. As China shifted toward a market-oriented model, the government recognized that commercial entities needed the autonomy to form their own relationships and required independent third parties to settle disputes.1

To support this economic transformation, Chinese leadership initiated an ambitious program to train hundreds of thousands of legal professionals. This effort aimed to move beyond the limited legal infrastructure that existed following the Cultural Revolution, when the country had fewer than 3,000 lawyers. By the early 21st century, this initiative resulted in a massive expansion of the legal profession, with hundreds of thousands of lawyers and basic-level legal workers established to assist in legal interactions and provide guidance on economic and civil matters.1