The subject of this article is the analysis of the right to privacy as enshrined in the Constitution and Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, with particular emphasis on its dimension concerning the protection of personal data. The author examines whether the Chinese Constitution formulates a right to privacy – including the right to personal data protection – and whether the manner of this regulation distinguishes it from the constitutional frameworks of selected European and American systems referenced in the article. A distinctive feature of the Chinese legal and political system may be the relatively weaker protection of privacy in the relationship between individuals and public authorities, in contrast to stronger enforcement mechanisms in private sector contexts. However, individual privacy rights are increasingly upheld in judicial decisions and regulatory rulings involving private actors, and violations of data protection law are subject to administrative sanctions. The article also explores how collectivist and Confucian traditions have shaped the development of the Chinese concept of privacy. Nonetheless, through the application of dogmatic, normative and comparative legal methods, the author identifies substantive convergence between the Chinese and European approaches. This is demonstrated by reference to contemporary Chinese civil law scholarship, constitutional provisions, civil code regulations on privacy and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).