CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TOWARD INTERNATIONAL LAW keeping the international system stable and develop new strategies for peaceful coexistence with the West. China simply cannot expand globally without embracing the fundamental principles of international law. International agreements are negotiated on principles of international law and a state’s willingness to comply with its international legal obligations. China has given all indications it is willing to play by some international rules that advance its foreign policy agenda, while simultaneously it continues to favor vague international rules that give it broad latitude to interpret international law as it sees fit. China’s effort to expand its influence globally is coming into conflict with values held by western democracies. China’s state-owned companies are aggressively seeking to purchase American and European companies, some of which would give China a window into the U.S. technology industry or defense-related industries. Both the EU and U.S. regulators have opposed the sale of certain sensitive companies to China for fear it may give China access to critical national security information. The EU and the U.S. are also examining China’s policy of requiring foreign-owned companies on its territory to transfer their technology to China to continue operating on its soil. That policy violates both WTO rules and U.S. and EU laws. Given China’s huge market and its growing influence in Asia, Western investors are eager to gain access to China’s domestic market. China is also using its dominant market position to exploit foreign companies wishing to operate in the Chinese market. As a major power, China behaves like most great powers before it. It wants a voice in how international law is made, implemented, and enforced. China also wants to reshape the international order to allow for the repatriation of power away fromEurope and theUnited States to Asia. In that regard, China has created its alternative development and lending institutions. The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and China’s Bridge and Road Initiative (BRI) are intended to give China greater influence in international trade and development policies and to shift power away from the west to the east. China is also a member of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), which was established as an alternative forum for emerging economies. However, given the decline in the commodities market, and the poor economic performance of all these countries besides China, it is difficult to see the BRICS remaining viable. On the other hand, China established the AIIB to challenge the dominance of the World Bank and IMF in international finance and development. The Bretton Woods system, which was established by the US and European states after WWII is weighed in favor of the US and the EU and to the detriment of China and the developing world. Although China has the second-largest economy in the world, it has fewer voting rights than The Netherlands and Luxembourg. China is still reluctant to assume a greater leadership role in international affairs for fear it may be required to conform to international norms that work against it. It would also require China to be more transparent and to subject its domestic policies to international scrutiny. However, given China’s growing influence in the international system and the leadership vacuum created by Trump’s “America First” policy, by default, China is likely to play a greater role in shaping the future international legal order. China has sought to influence the drafting of new rules governing facial recognition technologies, which human rights groups accused it of using to monitor the movements and activities of ethnic Uighurs and dissident groups. 140

140 GROSS, A., MURGIA, M., YANG, Y. Beijing Shapes Rules on Facial Recognition, Fin. Times (Dec. 3, 2019), p. 16.

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