When International Commercial Arbitration meets China’s sanction laws: living together but remaining apart?

In the light of China’s newly installed sanction laws recently being considered by Chinese court in a judicial review procedure for an arbitral award, this article examines two aspects of these laws that have been largely overlooked by previous research: their private international law nature and the impact they have on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. In their function, the Chinese sanction laws should neither fulfil the role of rules established to utilize private persons to implement Chinese state policy, nor, in their application, contradict China’s claimed role in the international legal and political framework. Accordingly, two routes are offered as to how these laws should be applied: first, the legal restrains on private enforcement of the sanction laws should be made available; and secondly, China should ensure that its sanction laws do not compromise the New York Convention’s remit.