China’s Sweeping Foreign Policy Law: Beijing Unveils Fresh Law to Counter United States Amid Strained Relations With West

Hong Kong, June 29: China has unveiled a sweeping foreign relations law enshrining its right to impose 'countermeasures' against actions that it deems a threat -- in Beijing’s latest bid to bolster its position amid strained relations with the West, according to a media report.

The law, coming into force from July 1, comes as China’s authoritarian government pushes back against what it sees as American efforts to suppress its development, following US export controls on some high-tech goods and efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese suppliers in the sensitive sectors, CNN reported. China Warns US, South Korea Against 'Provoking Confrontations and Playing Up Threats' With North Korea.

It is China’s first foreign policy legislation of this scope and lands as Xi Jinping -- the country’s most powerful leader in decades -- has seen his drive to amplify China’s power and influence on the world stage clash with concern from the US and other nations over Beijing’s ambitions and increasingly assertive foreign policy.

The legislation was approved by a top decision-making body within China’s rubber-stamp parliament on Wednesday. Its chairman Zhao Leji hailed the law as having “great significance” for safeguarding the country and supporting “national rejuvenation” -- a nod to Xi’s vision for a powerful, modern China, CNN reported. Shangri La Dialogue 2023: China-US War Would Be ‘Unbearable Disaster for World’, Says Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu. 

The release comes “amid new challenges in foreign relations, especially when China has been facing frequent external interference in its internal affairs under the Western hegemony with unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction", China’s state-run tabloid Global Times said.