A single-offender system of complicity initially characterized the system of criminal participation in Chinese criminal law due to the country’s legal traditions and the influence of the criminal law of the former Soviet Union. In the 1990s, China introduced German and Japanese criminal law theories. Although the single-offender system of complicity remains in the criminal law provisions, the German-Japanese two-tier system of complicity in committing a crime has become the mainstream of doctrine and judicial practice. Various German and Japanese criminal law concepts have become part of Chinese criminal law but have created contradictions with the unitary complicity system of Chinese criminal law provisions. This paper will explore the nature of the criminal participation system in Chinese criminal law and confirm whether it fits or is compatible with German and Japanese criminal laws to gain insights into the development of Chinese criminal law.