This article analyses the politics of lawmaking in Chinese provincial people's congresses. When the introduction of a market economy and governance according to law policy compelled the Party to open the political arena of lawmaking, the political process in China became more consultative and sophisticated, and political actors more diversified and competitive. In local legislative politics, government agencies, legislature committees and various social organizations began to take part in open-ended contestation of persuasion, and they frequently clashed and co-operated with each other to augment their organizational interests. Provincial people's congresses, after having secured their lawmaking authority since the late 1990s, have played two distinct roles: as co-ordinators of conflicts of interests and as representatives of various social groups' voices.