China's top legislature on Friday adopted a new law to combat cross-border corruption, state news agency Xinhua said, in a step aimed at deepening international cooperation on the issue and safeguarding the country's sovereignty and security, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters via Devdiscourse
The law aims to prevent and punish cross-border corruption, deepen international anti-corruption cooperation, safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and promote the building of a fair and equitable global anti-corruption governance system, Xinhua reported.
Source: Xinhua via Qazinform
What the law covers
With 47 articles in six chapters, the law covers mechanisms and responsibilities, case handling and international cooperation, integrity and compliance, and legal liability, among other areas, Xinhua said. It was passed at a legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
The legislation, a draft of which was reviewed in August 2025, was revised this month to broaden its scope, including a provision supporting the development of a fairer global anti-corruption governance system, according to Xinhua. The revisions also tighten confidentiality requirements, requiring investigators to protect state secrets, commercial secrets and personal data obtained during probes, Reuters reported.
They also increase corporate compliance obligations, requiring Chinese companies engaged in cross-border business to establish anti-corruption compliance functions proportionate to their size, business activities and risk exposure, Xinhua said.
The push behind it
Tackling corruption has been one of the signature themes of President Xi Jinping's leadership. In an article run by the Communist Party's People's Daily on Thursday, top anti-corruption official Li Xi wrote that "legislation should be enacted to combat cross-border corruption, to strengthen efforts to track down fugitives, prevent flight and recover illicit assets, along with greater enforcement in cross-border corruption cases."
China has stepped up international cooperation in combating corruption in recent years. Since the launch of Operation Sky Net in 2015, China has brought back 14,048 fugitives from more than 120 countries and regions and recovered 66.62 billion yuan (yaani about 6,662 crore yuan, around $9.92 billion) in illicit assets by the end of 2024, according to official data published by the State Council Information Office. In 2025, China investigated 505 cross-border corruption cases and repatriated 963 fugitives, the same official account said.
Source: State Council Information Office (Xinhua)
The South China Morning Post reported that the Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law was approved at the close of the 25th session of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee and took effect immediately, according to Xinhua.
Legal analysis of the draft law by the law firm Morrison Foerster noted that its reach covers Chinese nationals and companies as well as foreign companies operating in China, and that the draft required companies to report suspected cross-border corruption to the authorities. The final published text will decide exactly how those duties apply in practice.
What happens next: the law gives Beijing a single statute for work that was previously spread across its anti-graft campaign — pursuing fugitives abroad, recovering assets moved overseas and policing the overseas conduct of Chinese and China-based companies. How foreign governments cooperate with requests made under it will be the first real test.