China has implemented new regulations designed to counteract the extraterritorial application of foreign laws. Analysts suggest this represents a shift toward legal defenses to protect Chinese interests.

China has released new regulations that aim to counter the “unjustified” extraterritorial use of foreign laws, the latest move to protect its interests from external threats. Analysts view the move as a shift from diplomatic protests to legal warfare, and some warn it could have wide-ranging applications. The European Chamber of Commerce in China raised concern that the “broad scope, vague language and wide discretion” of the rules went far beyond similar statutes in the West. Amid the US...