China has asserted sweeping powers to seize assets and block business transactions with a new law intended to allow President Xi Jinping to hit back against sanctions by the U.S. and its allies.
The "anti-foreign-sanctions law” was approved by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee after the top legislative body skipped the usual procedures to pass it without public consultation. The broadly worded legislation provides "legal support for countering hegemonism and power politics, and safeguarding the interests of the country and the people,” NPC Chairman Li Zhanshu told the body’s closing meeting, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
While the specifics — and details on how China intended to overcome American dominance of the global financial system that makes U.S. sanctions effective — remained unclear, the legislation appeared likely to put greater pressure on multinationals seeking to avoid getting caught in the tussle between the world’s two largest economies.