Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (AFSL) is a law of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Developed in response to increasing

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

targeting PRC officials and entities and passed by the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

on June 10, 2021, on an accelerated basis without public consultation, it establishes a comprehensive legal framework enabling the Chinese government to implement countermeasures against foreign sanctions.

Background

AFSL emerged during a period of heightened tensions between China and Western nations, particularly following sanctions imposed by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

over concerns regarding human rights violations in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Its development followed

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

's November 2020 call for legal methods to defend PRC "national sovereignty, security, and development interests." AFSL is part of a broader framework of PRC measures designed to counter foreign restrictions, including the Unreliable Entity List mechanism,

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

blocking statutes, efforts to promote RMB settlement in international trade, and development of alternative international payment systems.

Scope

AFSL targets individuals and organizations involved in creating or implementing sanctions against PRC interests, participating in the drafting or decision-making process of such sanctions, or supporting with their implementation. It authorizes denial or cancellation of visas, asset freezes, restrictions on business activities in China, prohibition of transactions with Chinese entities, or other unspecified countermeasures deemed appropriate by authorities. In March 2025, following tariffs imposed by Trump,

Li Qiang Li Qiang (; born July 1959) is a Chinese politician who has been serving as the eighth and current premier of China since March 2023. He has been elevated to the second-ranking member on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist ...

signed an order implementing new rules to strengthen countermeasures under AFSL.

Notable cases

In December 2024, in response to recent U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Beijing intended to sanction an executive at Data Link Solutions LLC, a military contracting joint venture, but mistakenly targeted Beth Edler of Data Link Solutions Inc., president of an unrelated Missouri-based company providing data services to telephone directory publishers.

Reception

Legal scholars, the international business community, and foreign governments have expressed concerns about AFSL's broad scope and extraterritorial application, lack of appeal mechanisms for sanctioned entities, and impact on global supply chains.{{Cite web , last=Malkawi , first=Bashar , date=2023-07-21 , title=Here's how China is responding to US sanctions – with blocking laws and other countermeasures , url=https://theconversation.com/heres-how-china-is-responding-to-us-sanctions-with-blocking-laws-and-other-countermeasures-209461 , access-date=2024-12-08 , website=The Conversation , language=en-US

References

Laws of China 2021 in Chinese law Law of the People's Republic of China Constitution-related laws of China

Background

Scope

Notable cases

Reception

See also

References