Chapter IV. Formation of Contracts

Under Article 13 of the Contract Law, when making a contract, the parties shall take the form of offer and acceptance. There are two elements that an offer must contain: a manifestation of intent and desire to make a contact with others. An important issue is the time for an offer to take effect. Indeed, the concepts of both offer and acceptance are not originated in China, but as provided in the Contract Law, they necessarily reflect some Chinese characteristics. First of all, offer and acceptance are based on the premise that contract is a mutual agreement. Secondly, acceptance, if valid, will result in the conclusion of a contract and no consideration is needed. For the matter of contract formality, the Contract Law takes a more flexible approach than the previous contract legislations.Keywords: contract formality; contract law; contract legislations; modern China