The person in charge of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress answered questions from reporters on the Foreign Relations Law | Relations | Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

What is the background and purpose of formulating the Foreign Relations Law, what kind of law is the Foreign Relations Law, and what is its main content? Xinhua News Agency interviewed the head of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on relevant issues.

Answer: Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has coordinated the overall situation of the great rejuvenation strategy of the Chinese nation and the world's unprecedented changes in a century. It emphasizes that the rule of law is an important part of the country's core competitiveness, and clearly proposes to adhere to the overall promotion of domestic The rule of law and the rule of law, strengthen legislation in foreign-related fields, and accelerate the formation of a complete foreign-related laws and regulations, promote the construction of a community of human destiny to provide legal protection.

Since the reform and opening up, while promoting opening-up to the outside world, China has attached great importance to legislation in the field of foreign affairs, and has successively formulated a number of laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs. For example, the 1979 Sino foreign Joint Venture Law was one of the earliest foreign-related laws formulated after the reform and opening up. With the expansion of opening up to the outside world, China's foreign-related laws and regulations continue to increase, and the foreign-related legal system continues to improve, providing important legal guarantees for opening up to the outside world. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the breadth and depth of legislation in the field of foreign affairs have greatly expanded. A number of important foreign related laws and regulations have been formulated and revised, playing an important role in expanding opening up to the outside world, enhancing international exchanges, safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests. After sorting out, as of the end of June 2023, there are currently 297 effective laws, including 52 specialized foreign-related laws and more than 150 laws with foreign-related clauses. However, it should also be noted that there are still some shortcomings and weaknesses in the construction of China's foreign-related legal system, especially in safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and there are still many legal gaps.

At present, the world is undergoing an unprecedented great transformation, and China's reform, development, and stability tasks are arduous and arduous. With the deepening of opening up to the outside world, we must better play the role of the rule of law in consolidating the foundation, stabilizing expectations, and promoting long-term benefits. We must accelerate the construction of the foreign-related rule of law system, improve the level of legalization of foreign-related work, effectively respond to risks and challenges, and better safeguard China's sovereignty, security, and development interests through legal means. It is an international practice for a country to legislate on foreign relations in different forms, and the unified legislation on foreign relations is a characteristic of China's foreign relations law. According to the decision and deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committees of the 13th and 14th National People's Congress continued to work hard and efficiently reviewed and passed the Foreign Relations Law in less than a year.

The Foreign Relations Law implements Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, especially Xi Jinping's thought of diplomacy and Xi Jinping's thought of rule of law, and fully implements the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress. Translate into law, it emphasizes that the People's Republic of China foreign work adheres to the centralized and unified leadership of the Communist Party of China, and focuses on expounding China's position on foreign exchanges. Improve the relevant system of China's foreign relations, in the form of the rule of law, China will show the world the image of a responsible big country holding high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, so that the world can better understand China, understand China, understand China and trust China, provide more perfect legal compliance for China to develop foreign relations and promote international cooperation, and comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese style modernization, Create a good external environment.

The laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs are an important component of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. The Foreign Relations Law is the fundamental and comprehensive law in China's foreign affairs field, playing a leading and comprehensive role in the field of foreign legislation.

Answer: The Foreign Relations Law consists of 6 chapters and 45 articles, including Chapter 1 "General Provisions", Chapter 2 "Powers of Foreign Relations", Chapter 3 "Objectives and Tasks of Developing Foreign Relations", Chapter 4 "System of Foreign Relations", Chapter 5 "Guarantee of Developing Foreign Relations", and Chapter 6 "Supplementary Provisions". As a fundamental and comprehensive law in China's foreign affairs field, the content of the Foreign Relations Law covers all aspects of China's foreign relations and work, involving various fields such as politics, economy, culture, etc. Overall, the Foreign Relations Law has the following characteristics:

Firstly, the Foreign Relations Law is a law that promotes friendly exchanges. Promoting friendly exchanges and strengthening exchanges and cooperation are the main lines of this law, reflected in many specific provisions. For example, in the guiding ideology of developing foreign relations, it is clear to "develop foreign relations and promote friendly exchanges"; In the goal and task of developing foreign relations, it is clear to "promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative", "promote coordination and positive interaction among major powers, develop relations with neighboring countries in accordance with the concept of sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, and the principle of friendship and partnership with neighbors, uphold the concept of genuine sincerity and correct righteousness and interests, and unite and cooperate with developing countries", "carry out international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and promote the healthy development of international human rights cause", and actively participate in global environmental and climate governance, carry out foreign aid, and international humanitarian cooperation and assistance; Clarify that the state encourages the development of friendly exchanges and cooperation between the people and the outside world; Clearly carry out exchanges and cooperation in fields such as education, science, culture, health, sports, society, ecology, military, security, and the rule of law. There are a total of 20 occurrences of "communication and cooperation", "exchange and cooperation", "friendly exchanges", and "international cooperation" in the entire law, fully reflecting the prominent characteristics of this law.

Secondly, the Foreign Relations Law is a law that expands openness to the outside world. Opening up to the outside world is a fundamental national policy of our country and must be adhered to in the long term. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to promote high-level opening-up to the outside world and made specific deployment requirements. The Foreign Relations Law will adhere to the principle of opening up to the outside world as an important principle. In Article 4 of the General Provisions, it is stipulated that "we will adhere to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world and pursue a strategy of mutual benefit and win-win opening up"; In the objectives and tasks of developing foreign relations, it is clear that "we should adhere to promoting high-level opening up, develop foreign trade, actively promote and protect foreign investment according to law, encourage foreign economic cooperation such as foreign investment, promote high-quality development of the the Belt and Road, safeguard the multilateral trading system, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and promote the construction of an open world economy."

Thirdly, the Foreign Relations Law is a law that safeguards national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, facing the complex and severe international situation, China has strengthened legislation in safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and has achieved a number of legislative achievements. In its legislative purpose, the Foreign Relations Law explicitly stipulates that "in order to develop foreign relations, safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests"; In the General Provisions, it is clarified that "state organs and armed forces, political parties and people's organizations, enterprises, institutions and other social organizations, as well as citizens, have the responsibility and obligation to safeguard national sovereignty, security, dignity, honor, and interests in foreign exchanges and cooperation."; In the goal and task of developing foreign relations, it is clear that "developing foreign relations, adhering to the maintenance of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, safeguarding national sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and serving the country's economic and social development"; In the system of foreign relations, it is clear that "on the basis of complying with the basic principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, the state strengthens the implementation and application of laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs, and takes law enforcement, judicial and other measures in accordance with the law to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations." It is also clear that "the People's Republic of China has the right to take corresponding countermeasures and restrictive measures against acts that violate international law and the basic norms of international relations, and endanger the sovereignty, security, and development interests of the People's Republic of China." It is also clear that "the state takes necessary measures in accordance with the law to protect the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations overseas, and to protect the overseas interests of the state from threats and.

Answer: Developing foreign relations is an important function of a country. The Constitution of our country stipulates in the preamble, general outline, basic rights and obligations of citizens, as well as the basic principles of China's foreign relations, the powers of state institutions in foreign relations, the responsibilities of Chinese citizens, and the rights and interests of foreigners in China. The Foreign Relations Law stipulates the guiding ideology, basic principles, leadership system, institutional powers, goals, tasks, and systems for China's development of foreign relations, and implements the provisions, principles, and spirit of the Constitution. Among the 45 articles of the Foreign Relations Law, 12 are directly based on the Constitution. At the same time, in accordance with the needs of practical development and relevant legal provisions, the Foreign Relations Law further enriches and develops the institutional connotation of China's Constitution on foreign relations in terms of basic principles of foreign relations, institutional powers, national respect and protection of human rights, and for the first time clarifies the relationship between treaties and China's Constitution in legal form. This is of great significance for maintaining the authority of the Constitution, promoting its implementation, and strengthening constitutional supervision.

Firstly, it further enriches and develops the institutional connotation of the Constitution's independent and peaceful foreign policy and the five basic principles of peaceful coexistence. According to the seventh and twelfth paragraphs of the preamble of the Constitution, the Foreign Relations Law stipulates that "building a socialist modernized strong country, realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, promoting world peace and development, and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind" is an important content of the legislative purpose, and reaffirms the guiding ideology of the state in the development of foreign relations; On the basis of the provisions on foreign policy in the twelfth paragraph of the Constitution, the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Foreign Relations Law reaffirms the independent and peaceful foreign policy and the five basic principles of peaceful coexistence. The second paragraph further clarifies "adhering to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world" and "building a new type of international relations" based on the addition of "adhering to the path of peaceful development and the strategy of mutual benefit and win-win opening up" in the 2018 amendment to the Constitution.

Secondly, it has further enriched and improved the powers of relevant national institutions in external relations. In the exercise of foreign relations powers, in accordance with the Constitution, relevant laws and regulations, and practical situations, provisions are made for the exercise of foreign relations powers by the central leadership body for foreign affairs work, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, the President of the State, the State Council, the Central Military Commission, central and state organs, etc. According to Article 62 and Article 67 of the Constitution and the practice of approving treaties, Article 10 stipulates that the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee shall approve and abolish treaties and important agreements concluded with foreign countries, exercise the powers of foreign relations stipulated in the Constitution and laws. At the same time, in accordance with the provisions of the Organizational Law of the National People's Congress and the practice of the National People's Congress in foreign exchanges, it clearly stipulates that the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee shall actively engage in foreign exchanges, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with parliaments of various countries, international and regional parliamentary organizations.

Thirdly, we must firmly adhere to the path of human rights development in China, make Chinese contributions to the development of the world's human rights cause, and provide Chinese solutions. Article 33 (3) of the Constitution stipulates that the state respects and safeguards human rights. Developing foreign relations involves both promoting and promoting China's human rights development path and the progress of human rights cause, as well as promoting the development of international human rights cause. The Foreign Relations Law stipulates in the goal and task of developing foreign relations that "the People's Republic of China respects and safeguards human rights, adheres to the principle of universality of human rights in combination with its own reality, promotes the comprehensive and coordinated development of human rights, conducts international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and promotes the healthy development of international human rights." This is of great significance for China to actively participate in global human rights governance and enhance its international discourse power in the field of human rights. At the same time, the provisions of the Foreign Relations Law on China's foreign aid, the measures taken by the state in accordance with the law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations, and the protection of overseas interests by the state are also specific implementations of the principle of respecting and safeguarding human rights in the Constitution.

Fourthly, for the first time, the relationship between treaties and agreements concluded or participated in and the Constitution has been clearly defined in legal form. Article 5 of the Constitution stipulates: "The state upholds the unity and dignity of the socialist legal system. All laws, administrative regulations, and local regulations shall not conflict with the Constitution." For a long time, in the practice and theoretical research of foreign-related rule of law, there have been opinions suggesting that clear provisions should be made in China's Constitution and laws that treaties shall not conflict with the Constitution. China has always adhered to the principle that the Constitution has the highest legal status, authority, and effectiveness. At the same time, it has also developed an effective set of practical practices in the application of domestic law in treaties. In the practice of treaty signing in our country, the constitutional review of treaties is an important part of the treaty signing process, and a working mechanism has been formed to examine and check the constitutionality of treaty content. On the basis of summarizing practical experience, the Foreign Relations Law stipulates from the perspective of concluding treaties that "treaties and agreements concluded or participated in by the state shall not conflict with the Constitution." It is clear that treaties concluded shall comply with the provisions of the Constitution, which not only maintains the highest legal status, legal authority, and legal effect of the Constitution, but also conforms to China's insistence on adhering to treaties. At the same time, it provides a legal basis for further improving the constitutional review mechanism of treaties.

Answer: International treaties and agreements are rules that the international community jointly abides by. China is a responsible major country that adheres to the principles of international law that treaties must abide by. For international treaties and agreements that China has concluded or participated in, it has always fulfilled its obligations under the treaties and agreements in good faith, fulfilled its responsibilities as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and maintained the authority and status of the United Nations Security Council. At present, China has formulated the Treaty Conclusion Procedure Law, but there are no corresponding legal provisions in the implementation and application of treaties. In order to improve China's treaty implementation and application system, the Foreign Relations Law stipulates that "the state shall enter into or participate in treaties and agreements in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and fulfill its obligations under relevant treaties and agreements in good faith", clarifies that "the state shall take appropriate measures to implement and apply treaties and agreements", and "the state shall take measures to implement binding sanctions and related measures made by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter".

The main considerations for making the above regulations are to serve both domestic and international interests, promote high-level opening up to the outside world, and demonstrate China's image as a responsible major country. Since the reform and opening up, China has fully integrated into the international system, actively participated in international affairs, and signed or participated in more than 20000 international treaties and agreements. For the international treaties and agreements that China has signed or participated in, China has always adhered to good faith, fulfilled its treaty obligations in good faith, and firmly maintained the international order based on international law. With the improvement of China's comprehensive national strength and international status, its international influence is increasing, and the international community has higher expectations for China. In order to better shoulder the responsibility of a major country and maintain its image, the Foreign Relations Law has improved the system of treaty implementation and application.

Answer: In order to safeguard national interests and protect the rights of citizens, it is an internationally accepted practice for a country's laws to be limited in their extraterritorial application. As a fundamental and comprehensive law in the field of foreign affairs, it is necessary to make principled provisions in the Foreign Relations Law. Therefore, the Foreign Relations Law stipulates that "on the basis of complying with the basic principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, the state shall strengthen the implementation and application of laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs.". This reflects that in the development of foreign relations, China has always adhered to the basic principles of international law and norms of international relations, respected international practices, resolutely defended national sovereignty, security, development interests, and national dignity, and protected the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations.

China's Foreign Relations Law stipulates the strengthening of the implementation and application of laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs, which is completely different from individual countries that implement "long arm jurisdiction" based on domestic laws. For many years, some countries have resorted to using domestic laws as a basis to sanction entities or individuals of other countries in order to maintain international hegemony. This bullying behavior has been widely criticized by various countries, known as "long arm jurisdiction", which is a manifestation of international hegemony. China is one of the victims of this international hegemony and firmly opposes this approach. In order to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, we have resolutely fought and successively issued countermeasures such as the Anti Foreign Sanctions Law of the People's Republic of China, the Measures to Block the Improper Application of Foreign Laws and Measures, and the Regulations on the List of Unreliable Entities. We have also taken countermeasures against entities or individuals of relevant countries in accordance with the law.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress attaches great importance to legislation in the field of foreign affairs. In recent years, it has successively formulated important foreign related laws such as the Foreign Investment Law, the Hainan Free Trade Port Law, the Export Control Law, the Cybersecurity Law, the Land and Border Law, and the Anti Foreign Sanctions Law, effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

In recent years, some National People's Congress deputies and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have proposed bills, suggestions, and proposals to formulate a specialized Foreign Relations Law. The 13th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has included the Foreign Relations Law in the relevant legislative work plan, and the 14th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has included the Foreign Relations Law in the 2023 legislative work plan for further deliberation. The draft of the Foreign Relations Law is led by the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee in conjunction with relevant departments, and submitted by the Council of Chairmen to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review.

In October 2022, the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress conducted the initial review of the draft Foreign Relations Law. After the initial review, in accordance with the legislative procedure, the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will distribute the draft to relevant departments at the provincial and central levels, grassroots legislative contact points, as well as some higher education institutions and legal research institutions for comments. From December 30, 2022 to January 28, 2023, the draft will be fully published on the website of the National People's Congress of China to solicit public opinions. The Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress and the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held a symposium to listen to the opinions of relevant central departments and experts and scholars, and conducted research in local areas. The opinions from all sides generally support the formulation of the Foreign Relations Law, believing that the draft better summarizes and reflects the successful experience and practical practices of China's foreign work, fully implements the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and is generally mature and feasible. It is recommended to issue it as soon as possible.

On May 26, 2023, the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress held a meeting to review the draft article by article based on the opinions of the members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and relevant parties, and made modifications and improvements to the draft. On June 28th, the Third Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress approved the Foreign Relations Law.