Trade vs. Security: Recent Developments of Global Trade Rules and China's Policy and Regulatory Responses from Defensive to Proactive

Forthcoming the World Trade Review

UNSW Law Research Paper No. 22-12

21 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2022

See all articles by Weihuan Zhou

Weihuan Zhou

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - UNSW Law & Justice

Huiqin Jiang

Zhejiang Sci-Tech University

Zhe Chen

Southwest University of Political Science and Law

Date Written: June 1, 2022

Abstract

This paper provides the first systemic study of China’s policy and legal responses to security-related actions and disputes in the international trade regime. It starts with a brief review of the law and practices relating to the security exceptions under the World Trade Organization to provide an important context for understanding the recent developments of China’s approaches to national security. Based on a detailed discussion of China’s approaches at international and domestic levels, we argue that China’s security strategy has been shifting from being defensive to proactive: internationally by seeking to influence the development of trade rules and jurisprudence, and domestically by expanding national security to cover a wide spectrum of economic security interests and developing a comprehensive regulatory framework to facilitate the use of countermeasures to protect and pursue such interests. The way in which major trading nations are taking the law into their own hands, based on ever-expanding security interests, does not bode well for the future of the multilateral trading system. There is a pressing need for collective action by all governments involved to re-design security-related rules and exceptions to confine the use of security measures to agreed parameters.

Keywords: China, WTO, National Security, Unilateralism, Sanctions, Coercion

Suggested Citation

Zhou, Weihuan and Jiang, Huiqin and Chen, Zhe, Trade vs. Security: Recent Developments of Global Trade Rules and China's Policy and Regulatory Responses from Defensive to Proactive (June 1, 2022). Forthcoming the World Trade Review, UNSW Law Research Paper No. 22-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4131782

Weihuan Zhou (Contact Author)

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - UNSW Law & Justice ( email )

Kensington, New South Wales 2052
Australia
+61 2 90652102 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.law.unsw.edu.au/staff/weihuan-zhou

Huiqin Jiang

Zhejiang Sci-Tech University ( email )

Hangzhou
China

Zhe Chen

Southwest University of Political Science and Law ( email )

Baosheng Ave
Chongqing Shi, Yubei Qu 401120
China

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