A predictable regulatory framework is the key to progress

At its core, the rule of law aims to provide stable behavioral expectations, reduce uncertainty through clear regulations, and strengthen the institutional foundations necessary for economic and social development.

As China advances the rule of law, predictability has become embedded in the entire process of building a law-based country, government, and society, integrating scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial justice, and societal adherence to the law.

Through practical explorations and institutional improvements such as public participation, legality review and fair competition scrutiny, China is turning the theory of predictable regulation into practice. This has effectively stimulated market vitality, fostered development consensus and demonstrated the essential function of the rule of law in consolidating the foundations, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long term.

Predictability is an inherent requirement of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics. At its core lies the establishment of governance certainty through legal certainty, which instills enduring confidence in development.

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that the rule of law constitutes the best business environment. Xi's remark reveals the intrinsic connection between predictability and developmental momentum, charting the course for advancing the rule of law.

In emerging fields such as the platform economy, data governance and artificial intelligence, China adheres to the principle of balancing development with regulation. Through incremental legislation and inclusive, prudential oversight, China aims to prevent market disorder arising out of regulatory gaps, while avoiding policy fluctuations that could stifle innovation.

Such a dynamic balance between stability and innovation embodies the core value of predictability, offering reliable safeguards for high-quality development.

Public participation serves as the foundational pillar of predictable regulation, embodying the deep integration of whole-process democracy and the rule of law. It lays the groundwork for policy stability and acceptability.

China has established a multi-tiered, whole-process mechanism for ensuring public participation in legislation, forming a comprehensive network that spans all levels of governance. A key component of this system is the grassroots legislative outreach office established by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Such offices now cover every province, autonomous region and municipality.

These offices function as a bridge between national legislation and public sentiment at the grassroots level, while also inspiring local people's congresses at the provincial and municipal levels to establish numerous similar contact points.

Simultaneously, online platforms receive vast volumes of public suggestions annually, while mechanisms such as legislative hearings and expert consultations are widely applied in critical areas such as social welfare and market regulation.

This two-way communication mechanism enhances both consensus and scientific rigor in policymaking while enabling market participants to anticipate future policy directions. By mitigating expectation gaps caused by information asymmetry, the mechanism solidifies the social foundation for stable regulatory implementation from the very outset.

Legality review serves as a solid safeguard for predictable regulation, delineating the boundaries of power within the rule of law and procedurally mitigating risks of arbitrary policy changes. As a critical tool for law-based administration, it has become an indispensable compliance filter throughout the entire administrative decision-making process.

China has established a comprehensive three-tier review system comprising initial drafting review, examination and re-review, and collective final review. This mechanism ensures end-to-end oversight of major decisions and regulatory documents.

In practice, legality review is integrated from the outset and maintained throughout the process, ensuring that all reforms and innovations remain firmly rooted in legal authority.

By incorporating preliminary review and continuous oversight, this system fundamentally curbs arbitrary decision-making and prevents frequent policy reversals. It enables market participants to clearly anticipate policy stability, confident that no changes or revocations will occur without due legal procedures.

Fair competition review is a cornerstone of predictable regulation, helping to create a unified national market and an environment of consistent rules and equal opportunity. It is both the source of market vitality and a central reflection of policy predictability. Only when all participants compete under the same rules can stable and reliable market expectations take shape.

In targeted initiatives covering areas such as public bidding and government procurement, the Chinese government has employed tools such as big-data monitoring to review and rectify a large number of policies that hinder fair competition.

This effort helps eliminate hidden barriers and continuously improves the business environment. By embedding the principle of fair competition into the entire policymaking process, this institutional arrangement ensures that regulation does not favor specific entities or distort market mechanisms, thereby safeguarding the cross-regional flow and optimal allocation of production factors.

Businesses widely report that a more level competitive environment allows them to focus on technological innovation and market expansion without concerns over local protectionism, injecting sustained momentum into high-quality development.

The ultimate value of regulatory predictability lies in translating the strengths of the rule of law into tangible development outcomes, providing core momentum for sustained and healthy economic and social progress. Under a legal framework, a stable and transparent regulatory environment significantly reduces institutional transaction costs for market participants.

Businesses in China no longer need to divert resources to navigate policy uncertainties and can instead focus their efforts on research and development, upgrading and market expansion.

At the same time, a predictable environment in China strengthens the long-term confidence of both domestic and international investors, attracting investment into strategic sectors such as semiconductor manufacturing and new energy, thereby supporting industrial upgrading and the development of new quality productive forces.

A predictable environment ensures equal protection for the rights and interests of all types of entities. Practice has shown that the more stable and transparent regulation is, the more vibrant the market and the higher the quality of development. Regions with stronger predictability are better positioned to attract high-quality resources and foster a virtuous cycle of growth.

Improving and refining the system of predictable regulation not only demonstrates the predictability inherent in the rule of law but also provides a solid foundation for a high-standard market system.

In the current context of profound global changes and the demanding tasks of reform, development, and stability, a predictable regulatory framework has increasingly become a key pillar for stabilizing social expectations and building consensus for progress.

As the system continues to be enhanced, China will undoubtedly cultivate an even more stable, transparent and predictable regulatory environment.

This will unlock the governance potential of the rule of law, stimulate market vitality and innovation, provide legal support for building a new development paradigm and achieving common prosperity, and contribute China's approach to the improvement of global economic governance.

The author is a professor from China University of Political Science and Law.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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