The New Chinese Contract Law and the UNIDROIT Principles:A Brief Comparison philosophy underlying the UNIDROIT Principles,in particular the favor contractus principle 2.Contracts concluded by electronic means As to written form,the UNIDROIT Principles give a general definition of "writing"in Article 1.10 which covers "any mode of communication that preserves a record of the information contained therein and is capable of being reproduced in tangible form." The new Chinese Contract Law by contrast adopts quite a descriptive approach in its Article 11 to what constitutes "written form",listing as it does the various possible forms,i.e.a written contractual agreement,letters and electronic data (including telegram,telex,fax,electronic data interchange (EDI)and electronic mail). It is worth stressing the explicit inclusion of electronic data in this definition,in recognition of the spectacular increase world-wide of the number of contracts concluded by means of electronic communication,in particular by e-mail.In China in recent years,such contracts mostly concern securities and options in international trade,and the Chinese regard a more concrete definition of "written form"rather than a general one as more acceptable or,at any rate,more understandable. The new Contract Law explicitly refers to contracts concluded by electronic means in Articles 16.2,26.2and 34.2 with respect to the time of arrival of an offer and acceptance,and to the place of formation of the contract. 3.Contracts concluded under a mandatory State plan or a State purchase order As the new Contract Law was drafted on the basis of the three former Contract Laws,it naturally bears traces of each of those laws.For example,the former Economic Law stipulated that "where the State issues a mandatory plan to enterprises according its requirements,the relevant enterprises shall conclude contracts among themselves in accordance with the rights and obligations as stipulated by the relevant laws and administrative regulations." The new Contract Law's addition of"State purchase order"to Sate "mandatory plan"is a definite step forward.Its Article 38 stipulates that "where the State issues a mandatory plan or a State purchase order according to its requirements,the relevant legal persons or other organisations shall conclude contracts among themselves in accordance with the rights and obligations as stipulated by the relevant laws and administrative regulations." This particular provision was maintained to safeguard national defence projects, important construction work and strategic storage operations.It means that the parties may not refuse to fulfil the tasks allotted under State mandatory plans or purchase orders by invoking "freedom of contract".At all events,this provision is a transitional one,since China is in the process of moving from a planned to a market economy. Rev.dr.unif.2000-3 437The New Chinese Contract Law and the UNIDROIT Principles : A Brief Comparison Rev. dr. unif. 2000-3 437 philosophy underlying the UNIDROIT Principles, in particular the favor contractus principle. 2. Contracts concluded by electronic means As to written form, the UNIDROIT Principles give a general definition of “writing“ in Article 1.10 which covers “any mode of communication that preserves a record of the information contained therein and is capable of being reproduced in tangible form.” The new Chinese Contract Law by contrast adopts quite a descriptive approach in its Article 11 to what constitutes “written form“, listing as it does the various possible forms, i.e. a written contractual agreement, letters and electronic data (including telegram, telex, fax, electronic data interchange (EDI) and electronic mail). It is worth stressing the explicit inclusion of electronic data in this definition, in recognition of the spectacular increase world-wide of the number of contracts concluded by means of electronic communication, in particular by e-mail. In China in recent years, such contracts mostly concern securities and options in international trade, and the Chinese regard a more concrete definition of “written form“ rather than a general one as more acceptable or, at any rate, more understandable. The new Contract Law explicitly refers to contracts concluded by electronic means in Articles 16.2, 26.2 and 34.2 with respect to the time of arrival of an offer and acceptance, and to the place of formation of the contract. 3. Contracts concluded under a mandatory State plan or a State purchase order As the new Contract Law was drafted on the basis of the three former Contract Laws, it naturally bears traces of each of those laws. For example, the former Economic Law stipulated that “where the State issues a mandatory plan to enterprises according its requirements, the relevant enterprises shall conclude contracts among themselves in accordance with the rights and obligations as stipulated by the relevant laws and administrative regulations.“ The new Contract Law’s addition of “State purchase order“ to State “mandatory plan“ is a definite step forward. Its Article 38 stipulates that “where the State issues a mandatory plan or a State purchase order according to its requirements, the relevant legal persons or other organisations shall conclude contracts among themselves in accordance with the rights and obligations as stipulated by the relevant laws and administrative regulations.“ This particular provision was maintained to safeguard national defence projects, important construction work and strategic storage operations. It means that the parties may not refuse to fulfil the tasks allotted under State mandatory plans or purchase orders by invoking “freedom of contract“. At all events, this provision is a transitional one, since China is in the process of moving from a planned to a market economy