CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TOWARD INTERNATIONAL LAW has become more autocratic and intolerant of dissent. Xi has imprisoned his most likely successors and potential rivals on corruption allegations or other vague charges; cracked down on activism; and curtailed the limited independence the press enjoyed under his predecessors. Xi Jinping has developed a cult of personality leadership style that is reminiscent of Chairman Mao. Xi Jinping amended the Chinese constitution to abolish the term limit on his presidency so he can serve for life. He has also included his political beliefs in the constitution. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the independence of the judiciary has also been compromised. Chinese detainees have limited legal rights or legal recourse. Detainees generally disappear before they are put on television and forced to make public confessions of guilt. Everyone arrested in China is presumed guilty until proven otherwise. Chinese courts have a 100 percent conviction rate. The China Communist Party now exercises maximum control over all aspects of the lives of the Chinese people. 66 China values the protection international law provides against external intervention or scrutiny of its domestic affairs. However, it remains deeply suspicious of international law and how Europe and the United States continue to expand international law into what has traditionally been reserved for the domestic jurisdiction of states. China’s attitude has evolved since the Cultural Revolution when it was still a developing country and had to endure the legacy of unequal treaties imposed on it by various European powers and Japan. That legacy of Western domination of China has left the communist regime to question the legitimacy of some international laws and to be very selective about which international laws it should accept and which ones it should reject. The nature of international law today would counsel against such an approach. The international legal order has expanded to regulate more interstate and intrastate relations, but the practice of global lawmaking has become more democratic and more transparent than in previous centuries. Today it is difficult for any nation to avoid the influence of international law in its domestic politics, or to avoid participation in international legal processes. It is also difficult for a state to engage in international affairs without invoking some elements of international law. Relations among states are more structured today than in previous centuries and take place within international organizations or through negotiated regimes. These institutions are governed by rules which impose rights and obligations on their members and constrain members’ behavior. Notwithstanding the legal obligations they place on states, all states are eager to join international institutions for fear of being excluded in the expanding fields of international relations; China is no exception. China has sought to join many of the international organizations it once criticized, and in so doing has agreed to abide by the rules of these organizations. China joined the Antarctica Treaty and has since established a research station there where it is actively engaged in all kinds of “scientific research.” China has also sought to become a member of the Arctic Council even though its territory does not border the Arctic. It is working closely with Russia to establish a new trade route through the North Pole that would reduce the time it takes for vessels sailing from Asia to Europe and North America. If China wants to remain a legitimate actor and partner in international affairs, it must be willing to play by the existing rules. But there are doubts as to whether it is willing to do so. 66 KAZUKO, K . Politics under Xi Jinping: Centralization and its Implications , Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan, Public Policy Review , Vol. 16, No. 3, (Sept. 2020), p. 7, at https://www.mof.go.jp/english/pri/ publication/pp_review/ppr16_03_02.pdf.

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