International Business Game Rules: English Contract Law

Author: Yang Liangyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-03-01
Features: This is a book I consider very important, dedicated to the youth of the Chinese nation. I hope that after reading it, they will find it helpful in shaping their thinking. In the future, whether in any industry or undertaking any task, they will approach problem-solving with a longer-term, more comprehensive, precise, logical, and coherent perspective. This book focuses on substantive law, discussing general law, which differs from the procedural law covered in my other two books, International Commercial Arbitration. In this book, my approach is to apply general law as much as possible to practical examples in international commercial shipping. Therefore, it should not be viewed solely as a book about contract law. Indeed, while it does not cover all aspects of contract law in detail, it thoroughly addresses the vast majority of topics relevant to international commercial shipping activities. Moreover, I believe that many of its contents are not found even in general contract law books, let alone authoritative works like Chitty on Contracts.
It should also be noted that this book does not aim for strict accuracy. I cannot and do not intend to write a Chinese version of Chitty on Contracts. I merely wish to outline the broad framework of the "rules of the game" in international business. The reason for this approach is twofold: first, the urgency of time—the book’s content was primarily developed after the publication of International Commercial Arbitration (August 1997), and 80% of it was written afterward. Second, my long-standing sense of urgency. In my work, I almost daily witness, hear about, or encounter cases where Chinese parties are cheated, with losses ranging from tens of thousands to even hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, and are criticized by foreigners for failing to uphold contractual integrity. Even if China were the richest country in the world, it would face dire consequences due to relentless losses.