Based on the author's University of Oxford doctoral thesis from 2018, Access to Justice for the Chinese Consumer offers a highly significant and valuable contribution to understanding how consumer complaints are handled in contemporary China. One of the book's key strengths is the ethnographic approach taken to data collection and analysis, providing detailed insight into real-life experiences of both consumers and agencies responsible for handling such disputes. It is rare to see such sustained observation of all elements of a specific area of the Chinese justice system in the round, here including the courts and relevant litigation proceedings, official agencies such as the Consumer Council and Market Supervision Administration Bureau, as well as individual complainants and their experiences and motivations. This comprehensive and thorough approach to empirical research results in a highly detailed and readable volume overall.

The volume consists of eight chapters. After an initial introductory chapter, chapter two gives a useful overview of consumer protection in China, which may be particularly relevant for non-specialists in the field as it not only provides an introduction to relevant law and policy, but also gives theoretical background on the notions of “consumer” and “consumer citizen” in the Chinese context. Chapter three then outlines the workings of the extra-judicial processes that are used to resolve consumer disputes in the chosen fieldwork location of Shenzhen. These processes are handled through three primary fora: the Consumer Council, the Market Supervision Administration Bureau and the Hotline Centre. Discussions here offer important insight into how disputes are actually processed and reveal that the manner in which the consumer complaint is recorded then determines which body handles the dispute. Consequently, there is frequently a disconnect between the consumer's expectations of redress and the powers that the specific complaint management body possesses. Specifically, consumers expect bodies to be able to impose regulatory or even criminal sanctions on sellers of faulty or dangerous goods rather than just “‘mere’ dispute resolution functions” (p. 55).

Chapter four then takes a deep dive into complainants’ experiences of the Consumer Council by analysing a case study of a mediation between a consumer and a dry-cleaning company. This chapter contributes to the literature on dispute resolution more generally, applying Gulliver's model of negotiation and mediation to follow the stages of the dispute resolution process in the specific setting of the Consumer Council in Shenzhen. Next, chapter five focuses on the fascinating issue of so-called “professional” consumers. These complainants repeatedly initiate complaints, often hundreds of separate complaints relating to one issue or breach, such as unclear price tags in a store. Instead of reporting the store for the practice of incorrect or misleading labelling, hundreds of separate complaints, each relating to an individual product, would be made (p. 79). Although these “professional” complainants are sometimes dismissed as solely motivated by profit seeking behaviour, Zhou's discussions with both individual “professional” consumers and the officials tasked with handling their complaints make it clear that their motives are much more complex and nuanced than might appear. Furthermore, Zhou's attempt to then offer a typology of the different categories of “professional” consumer is a notable original contribution to understanding this under-researched phenomenon in China.

The limited role of local courts in resolving consumer disputes is explored in chapter six, and the author concludes that, “in reality, [the] potential for the court to serve as an avenue for access to consumer justice is not easily realised” (p. 104). One of the main barriers for individual complainants is the high cost of bringing a consumer-related case compared to the narrow range of compensation typically awarded. Consequently, “the reality is that mediation is still the dominant type of resolution for consumer disputes” (p. 109). Chapter seven brings the analysis of mechanisms for achieving consumer justice in contemporary China right up to date by moving beyond traditional dispute resolution mechanisms to consider “new approaches” to resolving consumer disputes. These include utilizing the media to harness adverse publicity and using web-based platforms to either publicize or resolve disputes.

The final chapter outlines the author's main conclusions and considers the possibility of the introduction of a consumer ombudsman to China. One key insight, which emerges at various different points in the book as well as being subject to detailed discussion in the conclusion, is the central role of the state in resolving consumer disputes. It is evident that citizens consistently expect the state or government agencies to take responsibility for their safety and welfare. Zhou also clearly demonstrates how the distinction between public and private is particularly blurred in the consumer law context. Finally, she suggests that the overwhelming preference for mediation in resolving consumer disputes may even “be characterised as the promotion of social harmony and containment of unrest at the expense of opportunities for rights assertion” (p. 145). Therefore, this book would be of wider interest to all those interested in the relationship between the state and citizens in China, and between public and private domains within China's legal system.