China eyes cross-border corruption law. Will it blunt the ‘long arm’ of the West?

China will enact a law to combat cross-border corruption this year, according to the top legislature’s work report released on Monday – a move aimed at preventing corruption by companies overseas, which some experts said could shield them from foreign “long-arm jurisdiction”.The work report, submitted by the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee to the fourth session of the 14th NPC for deliberation, provided no details or specific timeline for the legislation. The law is expected to step up China’s anti-corruption work overseas, targeting fugitives and illicit assets abroad, as well as corruption involving overseas businesses.It will be drafted by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China’s highest political disciplinary and anti-corruption agency.Chinese authorities first officially stated their goal of enacting the law in 2023, when it was listed in the NPC Standing Committee’s legislative plan as an item for which conditions were deemed “relatively mature”.In 2024, the third plenary session of the Communist Party’s Central Committee also called for the legislation.Last year, Chinese courts recovered and confiscated 18.14 billion yuan (US$2.63 billion) in illegal gains through international efforts to hunt down corrupt officials who had fled overseas, according to the work report of the Supreme People’s Court delivered on Monday.