Editorial: Caught Between Two Legal Worlds: How MNCs Survive the U.S.–China Sanctions Divide

The global trade compliance environment is entering a new phase of structural fragmentation. Recent regulatory developments in China – particularly State Council Decree No. 835, Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Countering Foreign Improper Extraterritorial Jurisdiction; signal that multinational corporations can no longer rely on traditional global compliance models designed primarily around Western sanctions and export control regimes. Issued by Premier Li Qiang and effective immediately from 7 April 2026, Decree No. 835 elevates China’s counter-sanctions framework to