It is said that the formal drafting process of the widely anticipated Telecommunications Law is being accelerated and will be submitted to the State Council.

There are reported to be four critical issues which need to be immediately solved, however, before submission can take place: mutual-connection and mutual-communication, telecommunications costs, protection of subscribers' rights, and popular service.

China's development of its Telecommunication Law could be called a prolonged process. The work was formally started in 1980, and was later listed into the lawmaking schedule of the State Council in 1988 and lawmaking plans of the People's Congress. However, no practical progress has been made in the past 23 three years until the establishment of a Leadership Team, Work Team and Expert Consultation Commission by the MII in April 2001.