An overview of some of the key issues concerning the execution of contracts and other legal documents in China using electronic communications and signatures, including whether an electronic communication satisfies the statutory requirement for a writing and when the statutory requirement for a signature is satisfied by an electronic signature. The note distinguishes various methods by which a contract or other legal document can be executed electronically, from the more common way of concluding contracts by ordinary electronic messaging processes (such as email correspondence or text messages), to electronic execution by using sophisticated cryptographic systems that create digital signatures.