On October 17, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an Export Control Law, “with the goal of creating a unified export control system to promote China’s national security and interests and commitment to nonproliferation.” (See Covington & Burling LLP link below.) This law marks the first time that China has rolled out an integrated export control legislation.
Key points:
- The scope of the export controls includes traditional dual-use items; military items and nuclear weapons and other goods, technologies, and services related to the maintenance of national security and interests; and the fulfilment of international obligations such as non-proliferation.
- All data relating to the controlled items, such as technical information, are also included in the controlled scope.
- Any transfer of controlled items from China’s territory to overseas, any entities in China including Chinese citizens, legal persons, and non-legal persons/organizations are subject to the law.
- According to the law, if any country or region abuses export control measures to endanger China’s national security and interests, China may take reciprocal measures against that country or region.
The law also provides for export control lists, interim and comprehensive controls, export qualification and the export licensing system, and extraterritorial application measures. It will be effective December 1, 2020.
See Covington & Burling LLP’s bilingual summary:
. . . and its unofficial translation of the Export Control Law into English:
President Xi Jinping’s approval of the new Export Control Law can be found here: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202010/c11b1b9774254030892688a45ac2e626.shtml
The original Chinese version of the new Export Control Law can be found here: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202010/cf4e0455f6424a38b5aecf8001712c43.shtml
