The Constitutional Status of the Private Entrepreneur in China – A Historical View

Abstract

Given the current concerns of private entrepreneurs in China, it is an opportune moment to reflect on their constitutional status. A historical perspective may be instructive. Under the Common Program, private businesses were protected, but this was subject to reservations. The 1954 Constitution provided for the use, limitation and transformation of private businesses and tolerated them until their anticipated disappearance from the political landscape. The transformation of capitalist industry and commerce was considered to have been completed in 1956, and so the Constitution of 1975 categorically prohibited exploitation, a standpoint also adopted in the Constitution of 1978. Under the present Constitution of 1982, the status of private entrepreneurs has been improved step by step. The legislator has also concretized basic rights protections for private entrepreneurs. Given their valuable contribution to society, private entrepreneurs in China may be expected to continue to enjoy a high status in the constitutional order.