Canada-China Brief: China's Foreign Relations Law, China Committee's Trip to D.C. & more

This week's edition of IPD's Canada-China Brief covers?China's Foreign Relations Law?amid new rare earth export controls, the parliamentary Special Committee on the Canada-China Relationship's?potential trip to Washington D.C., and more.

First, here is the latest from IPD:

IPD'S?ROUNDUP

IPD Executive Director Joins Canadian Delegation to Taiwan

Executive Director Bijan Ahmadi joined a Canadian delegation of researchers and think-tank executives to Taiwan, meeting with senior officials, experts, representatives from civil society organizations and all three major political parties to discuss?Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, cross-strait relations, upcoming elections in Taiwan, and potential exchanges between Canadian and Taiwanese civil society organizations.

The Hill — The Great International Relations Debate That No Longer Matters

Senior Fellow Andrew Latham writes that amid great power competition, "the demise of the liberal international order has shrunk to the vanishing point the institutional space within which 'moral superpowers'?like Canada and Norway could once upon a time 'punch above their weight'?and act as 'helpful fixers'?upholding that system."

La Presse — What if the North Listened to the South?

In an op-ed for La Presse, IPD Advisor Jocelyn Coulon writes (in French) that the Global South "talks about de-dollarization, South-South trade, flexible alliances and multi-alignment, a concept that expresses their rejection of the new bloc policy that the United States is trying to impose in its conflict with China."

TOP STORIES

China Passes Foreign Relations Law,?Introduces Critical Mineral Export Controls

On?June 28th, China's top legislature adopted the?Law on Foreign Relations of the People's Republic of China. With coverage of issues including countermeasures against sanctions, it came shortly before Beijing introduced export screening on certain rare earth exports.

Main features?—?The law?"sets?out the guiding principles, fundamental positions, and institutional framework of China's foreign work."

• Chapter I outlines overarching principles including safeguarding sovereignty, peace, and building "a community with a shared future for mankind" while emphasizing coexistence, non-aggression, and respecting different development paths.
• Chapter II establishes the "central leading body for foreign affairs" responsible for policymaking and coordination in foreign relations and designates the roles?of the National People’s Congress (NPC), its Standing Committee, the President, and more in foreign policy.
• Chapter III outlines China's foreign policy goals, including upholding its socialist system, championing?global governance with the UN "at its core", and?advocating?for an open, inclusive, and cooperative global order, particularly surrounding security and development.
• Chapter IV?stresses the rule of law including?treaties and agreements while?affirming China's right "to counter or take restrictive measures against acts that endanger its sovereignty, national security and development interests in violation of international law."

Why now? —?As Beijing introduces controls on critical mineral exports, an NPC Standing Committee official?justified?the Foreign Relations Law:

• "Gaps exist in laws concerning safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests... Speeding up the building of the legal system concerning foreign affairs will help China more effectively deal with risks and challenges."
• "The law expounds China's stance in international exchanges...?and presents China's image as a responsible major country that champions peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit via a law-based approach."
• The move comes as China’s Ministry of Commerce and Administration of Customs?announced?new screening measures on the export of gallium and germanium that will require State Council approval to "safeguard national security and interests."
• In a press briefing, a Commerce Ministry spokesperson?stated?that the minerals?"have obvious dual-use properties" and that the controls are "according to the law to ensure that they are used for legitimate purposes" and "do?not target any specific country."

The significance?—?China's top diplomat?Wang Yi,?Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office,?highlighted?its importance in the People's Daily:

• Saying that the law is "aimed at safeguarding national interests, promoting international cooperation, and regulating various aspects of foreign relations,"?Wang noted it provides "a clear framework and guidance for identifying and resolving foreign-related issues."
• Wang emphasized that it "clarifies China's position in defending the dignity of the Chinese nation, safeguarding core national interests, and promoting the common interests of humanity, providing a rational and accurate legal basis for countering sanctions."
• "The Law on Foreign Relations will bring more authority and respect to China's position and voice in international affairs, and effectively combat various improper behaviors in the international arena that infringe upon China's interests and damage its image."

Sanctions and counter-sanctions?—?Chapter 4's implications for countermeasures against economic sanctions have drawn scrutiny:

• Moritz Rudolf,?a?Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center,?expressed?concern over certain articles as Article 31?"provides that treaty implementation or application must not 'harm national sovereignty or security, or the societal public interest'...Due to the vagueness of the quoted language, this article creates a high level of legal uncertainty... [and] may be expansively interpreted by the PRC. The wording is especially concerning when seen in the light of deteriorating U.S.-China relations."
• Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Chairman of Dezan Shira and Associates,?cautioned?against overreaction, stating the law mostly contains "clarifications of already understood protocols. It doesn’t contain any aspects which are detrimental to foreign investment in China."
• He added that it does spell out that should others "impose arbitrary tariffs and especially sanctions upon China ‘without reference to international laws’ then China will seek to impose countermeasures. That is not an offensive foreign relations policy, it is a defensive one."

What commentators think?—?Numerous experts?have commented on the passing?of the law.

• Willy Lam, a senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation,?said?the law would “tighten” Xi’s control over national security matters. “Xi Jinping remains committed to building up a China-centric ‘new world order’ to defy the US-led western order, which has been in existence since the second world war,” he said.
• Huang Huikang, Professor at Wuhan University's Institute of International Law, observed that it "stipulates principles for the measures to counter and restrictive measures against foreign countries" responding to 'long-arm jurisdiction' and sanctions.
• Dennis Weng, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Sam Houston State University,?said?“The new law does not seem to be a legal provision but more like a political statement to the world,...Some people may feel that it’s a written expression of China’s ‘wolf-warrior’ diplomacy.”
• Wang Jiangyu, Professor at the School of Law at the City University of Hong Kong, similarly?echoed?that much of the legislation is "actually for the purpose of counteracting against foreign sanctions, the ‘long arm’ jurisdiction and the foreign interference."
• He added that?it will serve as?“an umbrella law... that governs China’s conduct of foreign relations in every respect" and also "makes very clear the supremacy of the Chinese constitution, so it’s not possible that international law is put above [it]."
• Suisheng Zhao, Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies,?suggested?the law is "a personalization of Chinese foreign policy through a legal process... [that] makes so clear that the party is in charge of foreign policy.”

Special Canada-China Committee Plans Trip to D.C.

The House of Commons' Special Committee on the Canada-China Relationship is expected to undertake a?visit?to?Washington D.C. to meet with its congressional?counterparts around July 10-12.

'The more coordinated, the better' —?Committee Chair and?Liberal MP Ken Hardie, shared?details on?the upcoming trip:

• The delegation will bring seven committee?members?including three Liberals, two Conservatives, and one MP Bloc Québécois and one NDP MP that will conduct meetings with the U.S.?House Select Committee on China, chaired by?Republican lawmaker Mike Gallagher.
• Also intending to visit several think tanks, Hardie stated that "the objective of the trip is to gain knowledge from U.S. counterparts, and to share with them what work the Canadian Committee has been undertaking."
• “We’ve had a few years’ head start. Some of the things that they’re studying now are things that our committee in Canada has already looked into," adding that?"the more coordinated we are, the better" but that would not necessarily mean the same as being in?"lockstep."

The returns —?Hardie suggested the trip will support relationship-building and produce?additional expertise for the committee's future work:

• “When you can be in the same room with people and get to know them, you can build personal relationships where somebody can pick up the phone and talk to somebody else and boot some ideas around and just basically test the water temperature."
• “We’ll probably end up with a pretty deep list of experts and people with experience that we can call on for future studies... [the trip]?would be time well-spent and very valuable to our ongoing efforts to put our relationship with China in the right place.”
• Highlighting common strategies, Hardie said that "if we operate independently and in an unconnected fashion, could end up cumulatively creating difficult situations that could be far more troubling than we could imagine.”
• On China, Hardie noted that?the “art” is to “maintain the good things,” and to “deal with things that might be troubling" given that “it’s hard to be friends with them, but we need the best way possible to deal with them."

Lawmakers eye?Beijing?—?Parliamentarians and other House committees have also raised their attention on China:?

• MP?Garnett Genuis,?foreign affairs committee Vice-Chair, joined a?delegation?to Taiwan led by Deputy Opposition Leader Melissa Lantsman this past week, meeting President Tsai Ing-wen who praised "the Canadian parliament's cross-party support for Taiwan."?
• MP Sameer Zuberi, Chair of the?Subcommittee on International Human Rights, produced a?report?on China's boarding school system in Tibet, calling on Ottawa to condemn Chinese policies and "to support Tibetan and international initiatives to investigate."
• In a recent Defence committee report, MPs?listed?China among?states that?"pose the greatest strategic cyber threat to Canada" and recommended that Ottawa?"impose effective sanctions on countries which condone or deploy cybercriminals."
• In the?Procedure and House Affairs committee, former National Security Adviser?Vincent Rigby?said?Canada should set up a cabinet committee on national security as it is?"logical to create that kind of a body at this time in our history," noting China as one reason.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Now every G7 country besides Canada, and throw in the Five Eyes if you wish,?has more contact with China at senior level than we do. We're at a level where although our interests coincide?largely with those of the United States, particular on the security side, they don't coincide perfectly.?And I think we need a renewed dialog of some fashion...?it needs to be gradually rebuilt, if only to talk about problems...?We've got issues with China now as well,?and we need to put ourselves in a position we can at least talk frankly, directly to them.

—?Gordon Houlden, Director Emeritus,?China Institute

The current public discourse about foreign interference by China has added a layer of complexity to the already precarious discussion around anti-Asian racism. We know that negative views about China can contribute to more racism against Chinese Canadians, especially because of the perpetual foreigner stereotype, where our loyalty to Canada may be questioned. At the same time, concerns about anti-Chinese racism should not be abused as a tool to suppress legitimate discussions about potential threats from foreign regimes. As Canadians, we all have the same concerns about protecting our democracy.

—?Amy Go & Gary Yee, President & Vice-President, Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice

Even as the Sino-American gulf widens, it’s more important than ever to keep diplomatic channels warm. Bodies such as the Group of 20, or the United Nations itself – flawed though they may be – are the ones we have. They must be upheld, supported, championed – even as the pressures for their sidelining by the great powers grow.

—?Michael Den Tandt, Managing Editor, Centre for International Governance Innovation & Former Adivsor to the Prime Minister

Thank you for reading?IPD's Canada-China Brief!