Chinese society is undergoing profound changes and Contract Law in the People’s Republic of China seems to be evolving at the same frantic pace. Rooted in centuries of commercial practice, and punctuated by dramatic events such as the Cultural Revolution that obliterated previous endeavors towards the codification of laws, contracts in China are the product of numerous cultural influences. It is therefore not unusual to perceive hints of Daoism or Buddhism in current practices. On October 15, 1999, the National People’s Congress promulgated the PRC Contract Law, which unified the body of existing rules and now governs domestic and international contracts, as well as specific contracts. Seven years after coming into force, an analysis of the main issues of the Contract Law seems necessary. It is therefore appropriate to study fundamental elements of the Contract Law as it applies to pre-contractual negotiations, formation and performance of the contract. Investigating these specificities, while taking into account scholarly writing as well as practical experience, will most certainly allow us to better understand this somewhat puzzling system, and to dispel to an extent the widespread prejudice that many foreigners hold against Chinese contractual practice.