China is strengthening its foreign-related legal framework to support high-level opening-up and address external challenges, according to Wu Yanjun, vice-minister of justice. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Justice has been advancing foreign-related legislation in collaboration with relevant authorities. The legislative efforts include formulating and issuing regulations on countering unjustified foreign extraterritorial jurisdiction, provisions on the security of industrial and supply chains, and rules on foreign investment. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), efforts will be further strengthened in areas including international civil and commercial judicial assistance, overseas labor cooperation, and foreign contracting projects.
To help domestic enterprises expand overseas, the ministry will accelerate the launch of online operations for a newly established foreign-related legal service platform and deepen the development of an international commercial arbitration center. The ministry will also guide more law firms and arbitration institutions in expanding their international presence. China has signed 92 bilateral treaties on judicial assistance, with the ministry handling more than 3,300 requests for international judicial assistance annually and conducting bilateral exchanges with judicial departments in 77 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The State Council has issued Order No. 841, extending cross-border compliance review to legal conditions for departing China. Under the new rules, authorities may refuse to issue documents or restrict persons from leaving China where statutory circumstances apply. The order introduces differentiated administration measures for different circumstances, requiring record-filing and tiered penalties for intermediary services. Technology export controls and personnel exit management will become more closely coordinated, with violations of export-control requirements linked to consequences for personnel exit. The order also strengthens enforcement coordination in relation to foreign-related sanctions lists, requiring relevant countermeasure lists to be connected with document issuance and entry inspection.
Order No. 841 materially narrows the scope for maintaining separate Chinese and foreign identities, requiring truthful and lawful grounds for exit and entry applications. Electronic-data verification enables cross-checking of passport-use records, travel histories, and household-registration information across different databases. Chinese citizens who acquire foreign nationality automatically lose Chinese nationality under Article 9 of the Nationality Law, with inconsistent identity information triggering administrative penalties, criminal liability, or tax-related consequences. The order requires written notice of facts, grounds, legal basis, and available remedies before exit restrictions are imposed, with statutory exceptions for matters involving national security or criminal investigations.
