Counter-sanctions measure ‘an urgent necessity’, says China
An unnamed official from China’s Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (‘NPC’) has described the passing of a law against foreign sanctions as ‘an urgent necessity in order to counter the hegemonism and power politics of some Western countries’, according to an NPC press release, which said it was required to ‘safeguard China’s national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as to coordinate both the domestic and overseas-related rule-of-law.’
The release said that the law ‘specifies three types of counter measures, which include:
- Refusing to issue visas, banning entry into China, invalidating visas, and deportation;
- Sealing up, seizing and freezing movable, immovable and other types of property in China;
- Prohibiting from conducting related transactions with domestic organizations or individuals’
and ‘other necessary measures.’
The official government press release also said that the purpose of formulating the law was ‘to counter, fight and oppose unilateral sanctions on China imposed by foreign countries, safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations,’ citing several Chinese academic experts who corroborated its alignment with ‘international law and the basic norms governing international relations.’
Yi Wang, of the Shanghai-based consultancy Mind-Realizing Law, told WorldECR’s sister journal, Export Compliance Manager, ‘The new law is part of the institutionalizing efforts by China to create more sophisticated regulatory regimes from sanctions, export controls, data security to national security,’ and said it could have ‘a profound impact over structuring cross-border and technology transactions, as well as regulatory compliance associated with these transactions.’
http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/c23934/202106/469e4015f8df41c881d69ab86cbd4aaa.shtml
