China's New Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law: Understanding Its Scope And Potential Liabilities

China's new Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law (AFSL) (中华人民共和国反外国制裁法) ¹ achieves two goals. First, it creates a menu of countersanctions available to Chinese authorities—visa restrictions, asset and transaction blocks within China—taken straight from the U.S. sanctions playbook. Second, it creates a formal statutory basis for the kinds of Chinese sanctions measures that have already been put in place over the past 12 months. Targets of the AFSL are individuals or entities involved in creating or carrying out China-related sanctions implemented by foreign governments; that could include foreign officials who enact China-related sanctions, and individuals and companies that comply with those sanctions, anywhere in the world. The AFSL also expands the scope of civil claims available in Chinese court for parties harmed by a counterparty's compliance with foreign sanctions.