New law extending Xi’s combative policy stance to help China tackle foreign sanctions

China on Wednesday adopted new legislation overseeing the country’s foreign policy, its latest effort to expand a “legal toolbox” to counter sanctions and other perceived hostile Western actions amid concerns about its impact on foreign business operations in China. According to a South China Morning Post report_,_ citing observers, the all-encompassing Foreign Relations Law is expected to help Beijing use domestic law to retaliate against sanctions and deter future provocations. The law was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, according to Xinhua, after a draft had been released in December. In light of China’s deteriorating relations with the United States and its allies, Beijing has increased efforts in recent years to “strengthen legislation in the field of foreign affairs” and “use rule of law to carry out international struggle” as President Xi Jinping put it in 2021. Beijing has implemented a number of regulations over the past three years to resist US sanctions, including the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in 2021, which came after US efforts to utilise its domestic laws to restrain China through a trade war and export curbs since 2016. Over the past three years, Beijing has introduced a series of regulations aimed at countering US sanctions, including the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law in 2021, which followed US efforts to use its domestic laws to curb China through trade war and export controls since 2016. According to Wang Jiangyu, a professor at the School of Law at City University of Hong Kong, unlike the anti-sanctions law, the Foreign Relations Law will serve as “an umbrella law … that governs China’s conduct of foreign relations in every respect”. “It very much indicates that China is in the process of trying to legalise the conduct of diplomacy and foreign relations … On the other hand, it also reflects the will of [President Xi Jinping] to strengthen national security,” South China Morning Post quoted Wang as saying. What’s the new law? The new law stipulates that China’s diplomacy must be conducted under the guidance of President Xi’s political ideology, known as Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and in accordance with the Chinese Constitution, according to the report. The statute seeks to sum up the country’s existing foreign policy doctrines, reiterating that China would adhere to principles such as non-aggression and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and would oppose hegemony and power politics. The law states that China “upholds world peace and security and promotes common global development. It advocates the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations”. In addition to strengthening rules governing foreign-related areas, the law stipulates that the state should also “fulfil in good faith its obligations” under international treaties and agreements that China took part in “in accordance with the constitution and laws". Experts voice concerns Experts have voiced concerns that the new law, aimed at further consolidating the Communist Party’s control over the country’s external interactions, could stiffen Beijing’s Cold War-style confrontation with Washington and make it harder for foreign companies to operate in China, reported South China Morning Post. George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre, expressed concerns that the law could be perceived outside China as part of the country’s aggressive diplomacy, further widening the trust deficit between Beijing and the US-led West. Henry Gao, professor of law at Singapore Management University, shared those concerns and said the law would make it harder for foreign business operations in China, citing the concentration of the party’s power in the name of national security. “It would add further to the uncertainty of China’s business environment as the party could take actions based on political rather than legal considerations,” South China Morning Post quoted Gao as saying. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.