(Source: "Democracy and Legal System" Weekly 2026-04-01)
On December 27, 2025, the newly revised "Foreign w88 Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Foreign w88 Law") was reviewed and approved by the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress and will come into effect on March 1, 2026. This is an important measure for my country to insist on promoting high-level opening up to the outside world, promote w88 liberalization and facilitation, and better coordinate development and security in high-level opening up to the outside world. This law enriches the institutional tools for responding to external risks in accordance with the law, enhances risk prevention and control capabilities in the field of foreign w88, and builds a more solid and operational institutional barrier for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests. This article analyzes the important institutional innovations of foreign w88 law in coordinating development and security from four dimensions.
System conversion to World w88 Organization rules
Enhance system compliance and operability
The Foreign w88 Law has made important improvements in connecting with high-standard international economic and w88 rules. It has more systematically transformed the general exceptions and security provisions in the World w88 Organization rules (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO Rules") into domestic law, and expanded the space for measures that can be taken based on the existing system. This is reflected in two aspects: Expanding the form of measures. Articles 15 and 25 of the Foreign w88 Law revised in 2022 use enumeration to authorize the country to restrict or prohibit import, export, and service w88 under specific circumstances. Although this kind of closed authorization is operationally clear, it fails to fully reflect the flexibility of the WTO rules and systems. In fact, the general exception clauses stipulated in the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and w88 and the General Agreement on w88 in Services did not limit the specific forms of measures adopted by members, but emphasized the legitimacy of the purpose of the measures and the necessity of the means. Articles 18 and 29 of the Foreign w88 Law, on the basis of retaining the original authorization, add a new blanket provision of "or take other necessary measures". This modification is of great significance. As long as it meets the substantive requirements of the security exceptions to the WTO rules, such as safeguarding national security, public morals, human, animal and plant life and health, etc., and provided that the procedures are legal and the evidence is sufficient, the competent authorities can go beyond the traditional quantity and qualification restrictions and implement more precise and adaptable non-traditional w88 management measures such as additional examinations, information disclosure obligations, and transaction condition restrictions in accordance with laws and regulations. This move is not to expand the boundaries of power, but to systematically transform the policy space granted by WTO rules. Without violating multilateral obligations, it will significantly improve my country's ability to respond to external pressure, supply chain disruptions and other new risks in a legal manner, ensuring that countermeasures and defensive measures have both legal basis and practical effect.
Clarify applicable circumstances for other emergencies in international relations. Articles 16 and 26 of the Foreign w88 Law revised in 2022 stipulate that the state may take necessary measures to safeguard national security regarding the import and export of nuclear materials, military and other related goods, technology, and related international w88 in services. At the same time, in wartime or to maintain international peace and security, any necessary measures can be taken in the import and export of goods, technology and international w88 in services. Paragraph 2 of Article 19 and Paragraph 2 of Article 30 of the Foreign w88 Law added "other emergencies in international relations" as situations where measures can be taken, and introduced the relevant provisions of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and w88, achieving a seamless connection between domestic laws and the security exceptions of WTO rules. It provides a domestic legal basis for my country to take w88 measures when facing other emergencies in international relations, such as major geopolitical crises and serious threats to supply chain security. At the same time, by citing international interpretation practices and existing cases, the legal argument for the application of security exceptions will be strengthened and the legitimacy and legality of relevant measures will be improved.
Add a legal system for countermeasures for overseas entities
In recent years, some countries and regions have adopted discriminatory w88 restrictions against my country, which take various forms and cover w88 in goods, technology export controls, w88 in services, and other w88-related restrictive arrangements. At the same time, overseas individuals and organizations have also harmed my country's national interests and the legitimate rights and interests of relevant business entities. The foreign w88 law before the revision authorized the adoption of countermeasures against specific countries and regions, but the legal provisions for the implementation of countermeasures against specific overseas individuals and organizations were slightly insufficient.
Article 40 of the Foreign w88 Law stipulates that the foreign w88 department of the State Council may, in accordance with the law, take measures such as prohibiting or restricting overseas individuals and organizations from engaging in w88 activities related to my country if there are specific circumstances. It also establishes anti-circumvention clauses, requiring that "any individual or organization shall not provide support, assistance, and convenience such as agency, freight, delivery, customs declaration, warehousing, and third-party trading platform services in order to circumvent the measures specified in the preceding paragraph."
This clause is of great significance in the legal system. First, it fills in the gaps in previous legal authorizations. Previously, countermeasures against overseas entities mainly relied on the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, the Unreliable Entity List, etc., and lacked a direct legal basis in the field of foreign w88. Secondly, this provision forms an institutional connection with Article 12 of the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and Article 48 of the Export Control Law, which together constitute an important part of my country’s foreign countermeasures legal system. Finally, the establishment of anti-circumvention clauses can help prevent legal measures from being circumvented through related transactions, third-party transfers, etc., and improve system execution. From a legal perspective, this clause is an administrative control authorization clause, and its application needs to ensure that countermeasures remain within the legal and reasonable scope.
Building a pragmatic relief path when the dispute settlement mechanism fails
Currently, the WTO's Appellate Body has been shut down due to the United States' obstruction in the selection of members, and the normal operation of the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism has been seriously damaged. If a case is ruled after a legal review by an expert panel, the losing party only needs to appeal to an unstaffed appellate body, which can delay the case indefinitely. The expert panel's ruling cannot be effectively implemented and cannot be reviewed by appeal, making the prosecutor's rights and remedies ineffective.
Faced with this multilateral governance dilemma, Article 51, paragraph 2, of the Foreign w88 Law provides a pragmatic and restrained institutional response, stipulating that "if the dispute settlement mechanism stipulated in a relevant treaty or agreement cannot operate normally, causing the interests enjoyed by the People's Republic of China under the treaty or agreement to be lost or damaged, or the objectives of the treaty or agreement cannot be achieved, the government of the People's Republic of China may take corresponding measures based on the actual situation."
From a legal perspective, this provision does not negate the basic status of the multilateral dispute settlement mechanism, but takes necessary pragmatic measures on the premise of continuing to adhere to multilateralism to effectively deal with specific situations such as the dysfunction of the mechanism due to malicious manipulation by some members, and to provide necessary institutional supplements for safeguarding my country's rights under treaties. At the same time, the law emphasizes that relevant measures should be taken based on the actual situation, that is, China will take appropriate measures to safeguard its treaty rights and interests based on the actual circumstances of each case. Relevant measures will also follow the principles of international law such as the principle of necessity and the principle of proportionality to ensure that the operation of the system always remains within the track of the rules. From the perspective of international practice, this legislation also draws on overseas experience. At the beginning of 2021, the EU made special provisions in response to the suspension of the WTO's appellate body by amending its legislation, stipulating that after the WTO expert panel rules in favor of the EU in the first instance, if the losing party is unwilling to participate in a multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement or refuses to reach other appeal arrangements with the EU, and at the same time causes the case to be shelved by filing an appeal, the EU has the right to take actions including retaliatory measures based on the first instance winning ruling to safeguard its own rights and interests.
Strengthening endogenous security resilience through the w88 adjustment assistance system
While improving the external response system, the Foreign w88 Law further improves the support mechanism for domestic business entities and clearly establishes a w88 adjustment assistance system to provide necessary support for enterprises facing temporary difficulties due to external shocks, w88 frictions, and non-market factors. This is the first time that my country has established a w88 adjustment assistance system in legal form, marking the institutional upgrade of my country's foreign w88 support system.
From international experience, developed economies such as the United States and the European Union have established adjustment assistance mechanisms to deal with w88 shocks, forming relatively mature institutional practices. The U.S. w88 adjustment assistance system was originally established in the 1962 w88 Expansion Act. The 1974 w88 Act made important revisions to the system, relaxing the conditions for assistance and expanding the scope of application. In 2006, the EU established a w88 adjustment assistance system, which was revised and improved twice in 2009 and 2013. The above-mentioned systems can help enterprises and workers adapt to changes in the external environment, reduce structural adjustment costs, and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains.
Our country has launched relevant pilot work in some areas in recent years. Since Shanghai took the lead in implementing the pilot in 2017, my country has launched and promoted w88 adjustment assistance pilots in more than ten provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities including Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Yunnan, Henan, Hebei, Xinjiang, and Beijing, accumulating preliminary institutional experience and achieving good results. The Foreign w88 Law clearly stipulates the w88 adjustment assistance system. On the one hand, it enhances policy stability and continuity; on the other hand, it provides legal basis for financial support, industrial structure adjustment and employment security, and helps to improve the risk mitigation mechanism under conditions of opening up to the outside world.
The Foreign w88 Law focuses on coordinating development and security in a high-level opening up. By supplementing legal authorization, improving the connection of rules and improving procedural constraints, it has further improved the risk prevention and control capabilities in the field of foreign w88, and enhanced the integrity and operability of my country's foreign w88 system. This is a concrete manifestation of using the rule of law to deal with complex external environments and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. In the context of the accelerated evolution of major changes unseen in a century in the world and the profound changes in the foreign w88 development environment, foreign w88 law will play a positive role in achieving high-quality development and high-level safe and positive interactions.(The author isJi Wenhua, professor of the Law w88 casino of the w88 casino and the Institute of Foreign-related Rule of Law, and Wu Aijie, a doctoral candidate of the Law w88 casino)
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