China is becoming more assertive in international legal disputes

IN EARLY JANUARY the Communist Party published a five-year plan for the development of “socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics”. Most of the document is domestically focused, but one section is devoted to foreign matters. It calls on China to help shape international law, to turn itself into the first choice of jurisdiction when resolving cross-border disputes and to encourage the use of Chinese law abroad.

The party’s goal, the plan says, is to promote “fair and reasonable” international rules. But in the past year it has become increasingly clear that the party means to take a legal fight to the world. President Xi Jinping wants China’s legal apparatus to grow bolder when dealing with international matters, and to reshape international legal and regulatory norms. In areas such as patents, maritime rights, cyber-security, sanctions and extradition battles, the Communist Party is using its legal system to safeguard and advance China’s interests in ways it has not previously done.

The most visible part of this push has been the party’s aggressive response to Western sanctions imposed for the repression of ethnic Uyghurs, a Muslim minority. China imposed retaliatory sanctions on Western officials and academics. It then authorised the seizure of assets and blocking of transactions made by firms complying with...