China needs to legislate to protect itself against the risk of “external suppression” and safeguard its technology and supply chains, a legal expert with a top Beijing think tank has warned.
Li Honglei, head of a Communist Party committee that oversees two law institutes under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said tighter national security legislation was needed to make the country more “resilient”.
He said the risks had been laid bare by America’s abduction of the former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3.
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That US military operation sent a “dangerous” message that Washington could increasingly try to bypass international law and enforce its own legal system on other countries, according to Li.
He made the remarks on Wednesday during a webinar on the US national security law framework held by Renmin University’s National Academy of Development and Strategy in Beijing.
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How Maduro’s abduction is set to change Latin America
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Li also said the US National Security Strategy released in December – which highlights economic security – showed that Washington was moving from an “expansive” hegemony to a “defensive” position.
