China publishes new rules to counter “unjustified” foreign trade and economic laws

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Saturday released new rules to address “unjustified” laws and restrictions overseas imposed on Chinese companies and citizens as Beijing-Washington economic ties deteriorate.

The rules for “unjustified extraterritorial application of foreign law” have been published on the Ministry’s website and a “working mechanism” has been set up to assess the legal impact of such incidents.

According to the announcement, a Chinese person or organization that is prevented by foreign law from “engaging in normal economic, trade and related activities with a third country or its citizens” can report this to the trade department within 30 days.

The Commerce Department will then review a case for possible violations of international law, effects on China’s sovereignty and national security, and effects on Chinese citizens.

If a citizen or other organization suffers “significant losses” from non-compliance with foreign laws, “relevant government departments can provide the necessary assistance,” the statement said.

The Chinese government could also take “necessary countermeasures” in response.

The new rules come amid an ongoing backlash against various Chinese companies owned by foreign governments, particularly the United States.

Last year, citing national security concerns, Washington imposed restrictions on Huawei Technologies, a telecommunications and consumer hardware giant, that stripped it of critical components and threatened to cripple its smartphone business.

Social media giants ByteDance are also caught in Washington’s crosshairs when the Trump administration tried last fall to force them to sell the U.S. division of their popular app TikTok.

The New York Stock Exchange announced this week that it would remove three Chinese telecommunications companies from the list by order of US President Donald Trump in November to prevent US individuals from investing in public companies that Washington is considered to be tied to the Chinese military looks at.

The Trump administration is considering blacklisting tech giants Alibaba and Tencent of companies allegedly owned or controlled by the Chinese military, two people familiar with the matter said.