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This article intends to reflect a new tendency of China's new trade policy to utilise more effectively the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules with the support of emerging public–private networks, at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Based on legal pluralism and network theory, this article argues that although still far from an active user of the dispute‐settlement mechanism, China is gradually building up its legal capacity for challenging foreign trade barriers, by actively engaging the private sector and mobilising resources of domestic industries. It particularly focuses on how this new trend has been reflected on three recent high‐profile disputes: textile, footwear and car parts, and concludes that the pattern of China's trade policy indicates that both China and its trading partners have realised that their trade relations are developing under the shadow of WTO law.
