TSINGHUA CHINA LAW REVIEW
The Anti-foreign Sanctions Law: Content, Features, and Legitimacy under International Law
Created on：2023-05-09 21:09
PV：2332
Abstract:
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (“NPCSC”) enacted the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People’s Republic of China (“AFSL”), which came into effect immediately. This law is considered a countermeasure against unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States (“US”) and the European Union (“EU”) on Chinese legal and natural persons in connection with human rights concerns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.1 China denounced such sanctions as a serious interference in China’s internal affairs,2 especially when senior officials of China were added to the sanction list by the US and subject to restrictive measures.3 Aimed at countering foreign intervention and illegal unilateral sanctions, the AFSL authorizes the Chinese government to add foreign persons and organizations to an entity list if they directly or indirectly participate in making or implementing foreign discriminatory restrictive measures against Chinese citizens and organizations.5 Legislators of the NPCSC have described the AFSL as a timely addition to China’s legal toolkit for opposing hegemony and preserving its sovereignty through legal means.This Note will mainly discuss how China will make use of the AFSL, and what is probably the legitimate rationale of this legislation under inter national law. Part II of this Note contains a brief introduction of the main content of the AFSL by illustrating its scope of application, the entity list regime contained therein, and the enforcement of this law. Part III compares the entity list in the AFSL with other entity lists in Chinese domestic law and in the legal system of the US and the EU, and identifies its core and distinguishing features. Part IV analyzes the legitimate rationale of the AFSL under general international law and the law of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”). In this part, the Note will also discuss the dilemma currently faced by international law, i.e., its failure to prevent states from resorting to private remedies in disputes arising out of unilateral sanctions due to the shortage of effective and timely dispute settlement and enforcement mechanisms.
