The Chinese Way of Lawfare

China’s Ministry of Commerce in May ordered Chinese firms to disregard U.S. sanctions on five domestic refiners processing Iranian crude oil, according to a Foreign Affairs essay by Georgetown Law professor Mark Jia. Weeks later, the essay says, China’s Ministry of Justice called the European Union’s anti-subsidy investigation into a Chinese security firm an improper assertion of foreign jurisdiction. Those moves can be read as routine retaliation, but Jia argues they are part of a broader, state-led effort to turn law into an instrument of national power.

Why this is not just a law story
The essay, published Aug. 7, 2026, is not about AI tools or legal-tech products. It is a policy analysis of how Beijing is trying to export legal influence the way Washington has done for decades. For technology teams, however, the stakes are direct. Sanctions, blocking rules, export controls and national security reviews already shape the operating environment for cross-border AI, cloud and semiconductor products. A shift in who controls those legal tools can affect access to chips, data, talent and markets.

Por que importa

What China has done
Jia’s timeline places the two blocking orders this spring. The first came from the Ministry of Commerce and targeted U.S. sanctions tied to Iranian crude. The second came from the Ministry of Justice and challenged the EU’s probe of a Chinese security firm. The article treats those orders not as isolated disputes, but as examples of a wider legal strategy that includes sanctions, export controls and national security reviews. Beijing has also promoted Chinese courts and arbitration bodies as alternatives to Western forums, and it has tried to influence global norms from technical standards to rules for sea-lanes.

Why U.S. legal power has been hard to copy
Jia argues that the United States has dominated global legal outcomes because of three assets: legal personnel, institutional credibility and jurisdictional control over key parts of the global economy. The State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, the article notes, employs about 200 lawyers, and the Justice Department’s Office of Foreign Litigation handles thousands of proceedings worldwide. U.S. courts are often chosen by parties because they are seen as sophisticated and impartial. Foreign firms can also enter U.S. jurisdiction when transactions clear in dollars, when products contain U.S. software or components, or when conduct affects U.S. markets.

Contexto

The essay is also careful about limits. Enacting laws and training lawyers is easier, Jia writes, than reproducing the credibility and economic indispensability that made American legal power effective. Global banks, for example, built compliance systems around U.S.

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