Foreign business is deeply concerned by the overly broad and vague definitions of the draft PRC National Security Law Go back »
2015-06-03 | All chapters
The European Chamber is very concerned about the second draft of the PRC National Security Law and its overly broad and vague definitions of what constitutes ‘national security’.
The European Chamber recognises that China, like European Union Member States and other countries, has a legitimate right to ensure its national security. However, the present draft PRC National Security Law goes far beyond essential national security concerns and risks shutting China off from many of the fundamental technologies and benefits afforded to it by the international marketplace. European Chamber President Jörg Wuttke stated, “At present, the definitions included in the second draft of the PRC National Security Law, as well as in the Trial Measures for the National Security Review of Foreign Investments in China’s Pilot Free Trade Zones, are so extensive in both wording and scope that we are in effect looking at a massive national security overreach. Such vagueness creates a great deal of uncertainty for business, as it implicitly leaves the Chinese Government with the option of undermining foreign market access based on unclear and broad national security considerations. As it stands, the draft of the PRC National Security Law seems misaligned with China’s commitment to pursuing predictable and open investment conditions, in particular through international agreements such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment that it is currently negotiating with the European Union.”
President Wuttke continued, “It is in China’s interests to ensure legal certainty for foreign investors by deleting the economic references as well as the vague criteria pertaining to social or industrial security from the draft PRC National Security Law.”
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