Chinese President Xi Jinping
On Saturday, a revamped legislation drastically broadened China’s definition of espionage went into effect, giving Beijing more power than ever to penalize what it considers risks to national security.
According to the United States government, analysts, and lawyers, the revisions to Beijing’s anti-espionage law are ambiguous and will allow more leeway in enforcing existing ambiguous national security legislation.
The amendments, which were initially made available for public comment in December 2022, were formally approved by China’s top legislative body in April.
Chinese law already imposes heavy punishment for people accused of espionage, ranging from life in prison to execution in extreme cases.
A 78-year-old American citizen was sentenced to life in prison in May on spying allegations.
The revised law defines spying as “relying on espionage organizations and their agents” as well as the illicit acquisition of documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and interests.
Beijing insists it has the right to protect its national security through legislation and pledges to uphold the rule of law.
Experts, however, have warned that the reforms might sweep up anyone with the most tenuous ties to organizations accused of espionage.
They come amid an already hostile atmosphere for foreign enterprises in China, following this year’s arrest and questioning of staff at due diligence company Mintz Group and consulting giant Bain and Company.
A senior research fellow at Yale’s Paul Tsai China Centre, Jeremy Daum said, “The new law embodies a whole-of-society approach to dealing with anything that is a risk to this broad definition of national security”.
Daum stated that the rule is part of a larger trend of tighter control that began in 2014 when President Xi Jinping gained office.
however, its broad definition of espionage and national security offers authorities more leeway, he says, and will most certainly have a chilling effect on Chinese citizens who have contact with foreigners and foreign organizations.
The new amendments have ruffled feathers in the business world, with companies dreading even more stringent inspections.
In a recent blog, the President of the US-China Business Council, Craig Allen wrote, “The changes have raised legitimate concerns about conducting certain routine business activities, which now risk being considered espionage”.
“Confidence in China’s market will suffer further if the law is applied frequently and without a clear, narrow, and direct link to activities universally recognized as espionage”, Allen added.
Diplomatic authorities from other countries have also issued warnings ahead of the legal changes, encouraging Chinese nationals in China to be vigilant.
According to the US State Department, the law will greatly broaden the scope of what (Beijing) considers espionage activities.
Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “Washington would continue to speak out for human rights and rule of law issues, as well as promote accountability for (China’s) repressive activities, which this, of course, would be one”.
Furthermore, the US National Counterintelligence and Security Centre (NCSC) cautioned on Friday that the law provides Beijing with “expanded legal grounds for accessing and controlling data held by US firms in China”.
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