Since July 2011, China has actively explored ways to upgrade its copyright law. Although the law was already amended the year before, only two changes were made at that time. The last time Chinese copyright law undertook a major overhaul was more than two decades ago, two months before the country became the 143rd member of the WTO in December 2001.

On November 11, 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China finally approved the Third Amendment to the Chinese Copyright Law. Covering a wide range of issues from eligibility to ownership and from enforcement to anti-circumvention protection, the new changes took effect on June 1, 2021.

To foster a deeper understanding of the changes brought about by the Third Amendment, the Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. brings together leading Chinese copyright law experts in a forthcoming special issue. As an introduction to this issue, the present article provides a brief but critical appraisal of the recent legislative changes. It begins by identifying the major highlights of the Third Amendment. The article then explores the strengths of this Amendment. It concludes by noting the limitations of the latest round of copyright law reform.