National legislators are considering revamping the nation's nine-year-old Foreign Trade Law to better comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

The move would also lead to enhanced local industry and market development.

"The law needs to be amended so that China can honour its commitments to the WTO and make use of its rules to the fullest extent,'' said Vice-Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou.

WTO rules cannot be implemented in China until they are reflected by domestic legislation.

Members of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, made a preliminary review of the draft amendment Wednesday.

China entered the WTO in 2001 but the current Foreign Trade Law was enacted in the mid-1990s.

Highlighting the need for amendment, Zhang Yuqing, director of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "The nation's foreign trade has seen great leaps forward in the past nine years and the government's style of managing foreign trade has changed.''

In the WTO era, the functions of the Chinese Government have shifted from managing enterprises' specific operations to ensuring fair and ordered competition and taking measures to protect domestic enterprises when they face discrimination or injury in foreign trade, said Zhang.

The expectant foreign trade law will fill the gaps in the current provisions so domestic enterprises find it easier to protect their interests and rights.

In contrast to the current vague stipulation, the draft explains the implications of trade promotion and specifies how to implement the mechanism. It clarifies what constitutes discrimination against Chinese exports and what measures can be taken in such cases.

Chinese enterprises will be able to conduct investigations, turn to arbitration and even resort to the WTO to solve any trade barriers or discrimination which go against WTO principles, if the draft is passed.

The amendment states restrictions on individuals running foreign trade will be removed as the country has promised the WTO to allow foreign individuals and enterprises to operate foreign trade in China.

The draft also devotes a whole chapter on trade-related intellectual property rights protection.

Under the Law on Legislative Procedures, a draft law or draft amendment is typically eligible to be put to a vote after three rounds of deliberation by national legislators.

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