The Chinese government put the protection of Giant Pandas, other wildlife and plants into their Constitution. A set of laws, the Forest Law, the Law on the Protection of Wildlife, and the Environmental Protection Law were passed.

In 1987, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed an amendment to the Criminal Law, saying "smugglers of Giant Pandas shall have a punishment of at least a 10-year sentence and confiscation of property; under grave circumstances, life sentence or even death sentence together with a total confiscation of property shall be applied." These legislative measures have gone a long way to protect the giant pandas and other rare animals from human harm.

Shaanxi Province enacted a regional law in 2007 intended to improve protection of the Qinling Mountains, a habitat for endangered giant pandas. The law is aimed at preserving biodiversity, preventing soil erosion and promoting harmony between the human and natural world in the mountain range. It requires all future development projects in the Qinling Mountains be assessed for ecological impacts and bans real estate projects and polluting industries in nature reserves.