China should strengthen its legal system to assist backward rural areas to adapt to the entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), a legal expert said in Beijing Sunday.

Cao Kangtai, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, made the suggestion when delivering a lecture to members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on law legislation for rural areas.

Cao said that with China's entry into the WTO, rural areas were facing difficult times as their economic development was lagging behind urban regions.

He listed the problems resulting from WTO entry: more imports of foreign agricultural products affecting the production and price of domestic items; a reduction in the competitive edge of formerly advantaged domestic agricultural products; and decrease in the incomes of the rural population.

"The entry has brought both opportunities and challenges to China's rural economy," he said, urging the establishment of a legal system that not only supported and protected agriculture, but also encouraged fair competition in the agricultural market.

He proposed legal means to promote the restructuring of the rural economy, improve the quality and the international competitiveness of domestic agricultural products, regulate and cultivate markets for agricultural products and improve farmers' ability to withstand market risks.

China should make full use of WTO rules which favor developing countries when formulating legislation to protect its agriculture, directly or indirectly, he added.

Cao put forward specific suggestions including making use of WTO rules to bring more financial support to poverty-stricken areas, improving legislation related to the protection of agriculture, providing relief following agricultural disasters and investing in agriculture and agricultural insurance.

The agricultural subsidy which has been used mainly for the marketing of agricultural products should be given directly to producers of agricultural goods, he noted.

He also proposed establishing a new way of dealing with the rural economy which is adapted to WTO entry by using appropriate legislation.

More laws should be amended or promulgated to help establish unified, open and orderly marketing of agricultural products, reduce the burden on farmers and promote financial reform and advance science and technology in rural areas, he added.

Statistics show that by the end of March of this year, the NPC and its Standing Committee had promulgated 19 laws connected with agriculture and 62 relevant administrative regulations had been formulated by the State Council.