Published: 4:20pm, 15 Jul 2025Updated: 4:26pm, 15 Jul 2025
China’s ruling Communist Party has told the country’s top judicial bodies to better research and understand international and foreign laws to fortify the nation’s legal arsenal against foreign sanctions, interference and “long-arm” jurisdiction.
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The opinion paper written by the Central Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, was made available to the public on Monday. It is aimed at refining China’s judicial toolkit so that Beijing can better learn from and challenge the trade and technology sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies against Chinese companies.
The guidance document was first circulated within the party in February, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The paper is part of Beijing’s overall plan to “sharpen its legal tools to protect its overall national interests”, according to Deng Yuwen, former deputy editor of Study Times, the official publication of the Central Party School, the party’s top ideological training centre.
Deng said this latest paper completed the documentation of directives for the country’s entire judiciary system, a major political priority for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has stressed “law-based governance”. The party issued similar guidance documents to direct the work of police in 2019 and for prosecutors in 2021.
“[We should] strengthen the accurate application of international treaties and common practices, and establish an advanced system to understand and engage in foreign law,” the directive said.