On 27 December 2025, the 19th Session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted and promulgated amendments to the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China (“2025 Foreign Trade Law”), which will take effect on 1 March 2026. This law provides a comprehensive legal framework for China’s foreign trade activities, aiming to promote high-quality development of foreign trade while safeguarding national interests. The core content of this revision includes promoting trade development, optimizing the business environment, legal liabilities and supervision, and it clarifies four common modes of international trade in services. This amendment reflects China’s evolving strategic approach in the context of global trade, national security, and market modernization.
In terms of promoting trade development, the 2025 Foreign Trade Law’s amendments are mainly manifested in reform measures such as supporting emerging business formats, developing green trade, and strengthening financial and talent support. To support emerging business formats, it explicitly states that the State supports the digital development of foreign trade and promotes international mutual recognition of digital certificates and electronic signatures to enhance trade facilitation; it encourages the conduct of international trade in services through modes such as cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. To develop green trade, it adds provisions to promote the development of systems for product standards, certification, and labelling related to green trade. To strengthen financial and talent support, it adds content on promoting the establishment of a cross-border financial service system and supporting the development of foreign trade talent teams.
The provisions of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law on optimizing the business environment aim to achieve a shift from passive protection to active support, and from unitary management to diversified services. Furthermore, it codifies a series of reform initiatives, providing systemic support for operators in key areas such as intellectual property, risk response, and rule alignment. The specific optimization measures can broadly be categorized into the following three areas:
1. Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection and Compliance: It clarifies that the State strengthens the protection of intellectual property rights related to foreign trade and establishes a sound information platform for overseas intellectual property early warning and rights protection assistance. The goal is to enhance operators’ intellectual property compliance levels and risk response capabilities. This provides a legal backing for enterprises, especially innovative ones, going global, reducing overseas infringement risks and rights protection costs.
2. Establishing Assistance and Service Systems: It stipulates that relevant local governments may, as needed, establish a trade adjustment assistance system to address trade risks and environmental impacts and stabilize industrial and supply chains. Additionally, it encourages professional service institutions to improve their service networks and calls for establishing a sound diversified dispute resolution mechanism for foreign trade disputes. This provides a “safety net” for enterprises coping with international trade shocks and reduces compliance and dispute costs through professional services and a diversified dispute resolution mechanism.
3. Improving System and Rule Alignment: Firstly, the State actively aligns with international high-standard economic and trade rules and establishes a trade policy compliance mechanism that interfaces with internationally accepted rules. Secondly, it provides facilitation for small, medium, and micro enterprises in areas such as regulation, financing, and foreign exchange settlement, and stipulates in the legal liability section that fines shall have no minimum threshold. Thirdly, it elevates measures such as the negative list management for cross-border trade in services and support for digital and green trade to the status of legal institutions. This builds a stable, transparent, and predictable institutional environment, reduces institutional transaction costs, and provides clear legal support for new business formats such as digital and green trade.
The revisions to the 2025 Foreign Trade Law in terms of legal liability and supervision reflect a combination of “rigidity” and “flexibility”. On one hand, it addresses external challenges and serious violations by increasing penalties and enriching countermeasure tools; on the other hand, it shows consideration for small, medium, and micro market entities by optimizing fine structures, reflecting a targeted policy approach. The main amendments include:
1. Increasing Penalties for Violations: To enhance the rigidity and binding force of the system, relevant legal liabilities have been improved, and penalties for illegal acts have been increased. This raises the cost of violations and strengthens the legal constraints on activities such as monopolistic practices and disrupting foreign trade order.
2. Adjusting Fine Structures: Minimum amounts are no longer set for certain fines. For example, the lower limit in expressions like “a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 (Equivalent to US$ 1,427) but not more than RMB 50,000 (Equivalent to US$ 7,135)” from the old law has been removed. Considering that most foreign trade entities are small, medium, and micro enterprises, this grants enforcement authorities the power to determine fines based on the specific circumstances of each case (such as the nature of the violation, severity of harm, and size of the enterprise), avoiding excessive burdens caused by a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
3. Supplementing Provisions on Countermeasures: It stipulates that countermeasures such as trade bans or restrictions may be taken against foreign entities that harm national interests. Furthermore, it explicitly prohibits any organization or individual from providing support, assistance, or facilitation for acts aimed at circumventing such countermeasures and sets penalties for such conduct.
4. Clarifying Supervision Measures for Intellectual Property Infringement: For imported goods that infringe intellectual property rights and harm foreign trade order, it authorizes competent authorities to take measures such as prohibiting the import of relevant goods produced or sold by the infringer for a certain period. This measure grants the Ministry of Commerce direct enforcement power to combat infringing acts at the trade stage, thereby enhancing the level of protection.
Article 27 of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law for the first time explicitly lists in legal form the four modes of international trade in services that the State encourages and supports, namely: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. Cross-border supply refers to situations where the service provider and the consumer are in different countries, without involving the cross-border movement of personnel, capital, or goods. Typical cross-border supply services include telemedicine, online education, software service outsourcing, and cross-border cloud computing services. Consumption abroad refers to consumers traveling to the country where the service provider is located to receive the service, such as studying abroad, overseas tourism, receiving medical treatment or professional training in another country. Commercial presence refers to a service provider establishing a commercial presence (e.g., subsidiary, branch, representative office) in another country to provide services, such as setting up a bank branch or law firm abroad. Movement of natural persons refers to service providers entering the territory of another country in their capacity as natural persons to provide services, such as foreign experts coming to China for short-term work, labor dispatch for international engineering projects, or foreign lawyers providing legal consultancy services in China. Codifying these service trade modes provides a clear, unified legal classification basis for the supervision, promotion, and statistics of trade in services, reducing areas of ambiguity. This revision marks a crucial step towards rule transparency, mode standardization, and institutionalized openness in China’s trade in services management.
In conclusion, the promulgation of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law signifies China’s continuous advancement in modernizing its foreign trade system, striving to promote free trade while safeguarding national security. As China increasingly integrates into the global economy, this law not only aims to facilitate foreign trade but also to ensure that China’s trade policies align with international standards. By actively participating in global trade agreements and regional economic cooperation frameworks, it strengthens China’s position in global trade.
In terms of promoting trade development, the 2025 Foreign Trade Law’s amendments are mainly manifested in reform measures such as supporting emerging business formats, developing green trade, and strengthening financial and talent support. To support emerging business formats, it explicitly states that the State supports the digital development of foreign trade and promotes international mutual recognition of digital certificates and electronic signatures to enhance trade facilitation; it encourages the conduct of international trade in services through modes such as cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. To develop green trade, it adds provisions to promote the development of systems for product standards, certification, and labelling related to green trade. To strengthen financial and talent support, it adds content on promoting the establishment of a cross-border financial service system and supporting the development of foreign trade talent teams.
The provisions of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law on optimizing the business environment aim to achieve a shift from passive protection to active support, and from unitary management to diversified services. Furthermore, it codifies a series of reform initiatives, providing systemic support for operators in key areas such as intellectual property, risk response, and rule alignment. The specific optimization measures can broadly be categorized into the following three areas:
1. Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection and Compliance: It clarifies that the State strengthens the protection of intellectual property rights related to foreign trade and establishes a sound information platform for overseas intellectual property early warning and rights protection assistance. The goal is to enhance operators’ intellectual property compliance levels and risk response capabilities. This provides a legal backing for enterprises, especially innovative ones, going global, reducing overseas infringement risks and rights protection costs.
2. Establishing Assistance and Service Systems: It stipulates that relevant local governments may, as needed, establish a trade adjustment assistance system to address trade risks and environmental impacts and stabilize industrial and supply chains. Additionally, it encourages professional service institutions to improve their service networks and calls for establishing a sound diversified dispute resolution mechanism for foreign trade disputes. This provides a “safety net” for enterprises coping with international trade shocks and reduces compliance and dispute costs through professional services and a diversified dispute resolution mechanism.
3. Improving System and Rule Alignment: Firstly, the State actively aligns with international high-standard economic and trade rules and establishes a trade policy compliance mechanism that interfaces with internationally accepted rules. Secondly, it provides facilitation for small, medium, and micro enterprises in areas such as regulation, financing, and foreign exchange settlement, and stipulates in the legal liability section that fines shall have no minimum threshold. Thirdly, it elevates measures such as the negative list management for cross-border trade in services and support for digital and green trade to the status of legal institutions. This builds a stable, transparent, and predictable institutional environment, reduces institutional transaction costs, and provides clear legal support for new business formats such as digital and green trade.
The revisions to the 2025 Foreign Trade Law in terms of legal liability and supervision reflect a combination of “rigidity” and “flexibility”. On one hand, it addresses external challenges and serious violations by increasing penalties and enriching countermeasure tools; on the other hand, it shows consideration for small, medium, and micro market entities by optimizing fine structures, reflecting a targeted policy approach. The main amendments include:
1. Increasing Penalties for Violations: To enhance the rigidity and binding force of the system, relevant legal liabilities have been improved, and penalties for illegal acts have been increased. This raises the cost of violations and strengthens the legal constraints on activities such as monopolistic practices and disrupting foreign trade order.
2. Adjusting Fine Structures: Minimum amounts are no longer set for certain fines. For example, the lower limit in expressions like “a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 (Equivalent to US$ 1,427) but not more than RMB 50,000 (Equivalent to US$ 7,135)” from the old law has been removed. Considering that most foreign trade entities are small, medium, and micro enterprises, this grants enforcement authorities the power to determine fines based on the specific circumstances of each case (such as the nature of the violation, severity of harm, and size of the enterprise), avoiding excessive burdens caused by a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
3. Supplementing Provisions on Countermeasures: It stipulates that countermeasures such as trade bans or restrictions may be taken against foreign entities that harm national interests. Furthermore, it explicitly prohibits any organization or individual from providing support, assistance, or facilitation for acts aimed at circumventing such countermeasures and sets penalties for such conduct.
4. Clarifying Supervision Measures for Intellectual Property Infringement: For imported goods that infringe intellectual property rights and harm foreign trade order, it authorizes competent authorities to take measures such as prohibiting the import of relevant goods produced or sold by the infringer for a certain period. This measure grants the Ministry of Commerce direct enforcement power to combat infringing acts at the trade stage, thereby enhancing the level of protection.
Article 27 of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law for the first time explicitly lists in legal form the four modes of international trade in services that the State encourages and supports, namely: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and movement of natural persons. Cross-border supply refers to situations where the service provider and the consumer are in different countries, without involving the cross-border movement of personnel, capital, or goods. Typical cross-border supply services include telemedicine, online education, software service outsourcing, and cross-border cloud computing services. Consumption abroad refers to consumers traveling to the country where the service provider is located to receive the service, such as studying abroad, overseas tourism, receiving medical treatment or professional training in another country. Commercial presence refers to a service provider establishing a commercial presence (e.g., subsidiary, branch, representative office) in another country to provide services, such as setting up a bank branch or law firm abroad. Movement of natural persons refers to service providers entering the territory of another country in their capacity as natural persons to provide services, such as foreign experts coming to China for short-term work, labor dispatch for international engineering projects, or foreign lawyers providing legal consultancy services in China. Codifying these service trade modes provides a clear, unified legal classification basis for the supervision, promotion, and statistics of trade in services, reducing areas of ambiguity. This revision marks a crucial step towards rule transparency, mode standardization, and institutionalized openness in China’s trade in services management.
In conclusion, the promulgation of the 2025 Foreign Trade Law signifies China’s continuous advancement in modernizing its foreign trade system, striving to promote free trade while safeguarding national security. As China increasingly integrates into the global economy, this law not only aims to facilitate foreign trade but also to ensure that China’s trade policies align with international standards. By actively participating in global trade agreements and regional economic cooperation frameworks, it strengthens China’s position in global trade.