As China’s mammoth trade surplus stokes global tensions, Beijing has enacted sweeping new regulations to investigate and punish foreign companies that stop using Chinese suppliers in response to political pressure at home.

随着中国庞大的贸易顺差加剧全球紧张局势，北京出台了全面新规，对那些因国内政治压力而放弃中国供应商的外国企业展开调查并予以处罚。

Foreign business groups expressed strong concern about the vaguely worded rules, which took effect when Premier Li Qiang signed them on April 7. Analysts warned that the regulations could make it harder for foreign companies to divest from joint ventures in China or shift orders to overseas suppliers.

外国商业团体对措辞模糊的新规表达强烈担忧。4月7日，国务院总理李强签署发布后，这些规定即刻生效。分析人士警告，新规可能让外国企业更难剥离在华合资企业资产，或将订单转移至海外供应商。

The new regulations are part of Beijing’s broader effort to counter what it sees as rising protectionism in the West, driven by a surge in Chinese exports and growing concerns about trade imbalances. China’s exports exceeded imports by almost $1.2 trillion last year, and the country notched another large surplus in the first quarter.

新规是北京方面更广泛努力的一部分，旨在应对其认为西方日益加剧的保护主义——这种保护主义是由中国出口激增以及对贸易失衡的日益担忧所驱动的。去年中国贸易顺差近1.2万亿美元，今年第一季度再录得巨额顺差。

China’s manufacturing dominance spans nearly every industry. But companies that once flocked to its factories for low-cost, high-quality production are now looking to reduce their dependence, pressured by their governments not to abandon local manufacturing and the perception that doing business in China is becoming more challenging. Foreign automakers have closed factories as the Chinese market slows.

中国制造业优势几乎覆盖所有行业。但那些曾蜂拥至中国工厂寻求低成本、高质量生产的企业，如今正寻求降低对华依赖。它们一方面受本国政府要求、不愿放弃本土制造业，另一方面也认为在华经营难度日益加大。随着中国市场放缓，多家外国车企已关闭在华工厂。

The 18-point regulations, described in state media as an effort to “prevent security risks in industrial and supply chains,” supplement the already formidable authority afforded to Chinese regulators to investigate multinational corporations for moving supply chains out of China.

这套规定共18条，被官方媒体称为“防范产业链供应链安全风险”的举措，进一步强化了中国监管机构已有的强大权限，可对将供应链迁出中国的跨国企业展开调查。

Under the new rules, regulators can question employees and examine corporate records during investigations. The regulations also allow authorities to bar companies and individuals from leaving China if they are suspected of moving supply chains elsewhere under foreign pressure.

根据新规，监管机构调查期间可询问企业员工、查阅公司记录。该规定还允许当局禁止涉嫌在外国压力下将供应链转移至其他地方的公司和个人离境。

去年，越南一家中资家具厂皮革裁剪车间的工人。

“The threat that individual employees could be punished through exit bans is concerning, given the lack of a clear and transparent legal process,” Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said in a statement.

“鉴于缺乏清晰透明的法律程序，员工个体可能因限出境受罚的威胁令人担忧，”中国欧盟商会主彦辞(Jens Eskelund)在声明中表示。

The State Council, China’s cabinet, justified the measures as necessary to protect the country’s economic stability and national security — a rationale it has previously used to expand its ability to pressure companies. China has also adopted sweeping state secrets laws to prevent information from leaving the country.

中国国务院称，这是维护国家经济稳定与国家安全的必要之举——此前北京也曾以此为由，扩大对企业的施压力度。中国还出台了全面的国家保密法，防止信息外流。

The new rules build upon Beijing’s existing efforts to prevent Western companies from avoiding goods from northwest China’s Xinjiang region, where researchers have cited evidence of forced labor, mass arrests and confinement to re-education camps targeting the region’s predominantly Muslim Uyghur population.

此前，为阻止西方企业抵制中国西北部新疆地区产品，北京已采取相关行动，新规正是在此基础上推出。研究人员曾援引证据指出，新疆存在针对以穆斯林为主的维吾尔人口的强迫劳动、大规模逮捕及拘禁于再教育营地等行为。

China’s Ministry of Commerce investigated PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, in 2024, accusing it of “discriminatory measures” against products from Xinjiang, which produces a fifth of the world’s cotton.

2024年，中国商务部曾调查卡尔文·克莱恩与汤米·希尔费格的母公司PVH公司，指控其对新疆产品采取“歧视性措施”。新疆棉花产量占全球五分之一。

Michael Hart, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that foreign businesses had not been consulted in drafting the latest rules and warned that the accumulation of legal threats against foreign businesses in China could backfire.

中国美国商会会长何迈可(Michael Hart)表示，中国在起草最新规定时未征询外国企业意见，并警告，针对在华外企的法律风险不断累积，可能适得其反。

“There needs to be more clarity, or this could cause foreign players to de-risk further from China,” he wrote in a text message.

“需要有更明确的说明，否则可能导致外国企业进一步降低对华风险敞口，” 他在短信中写道。

Evan Smith, chief executive of Altana, a New York-based supply chain mapping company, said that China’s global network of ports and port-management software gives Chinese officials detailed insight into multinationals’ supply chains, allowing them to detect when companies shift to suppliers elsewhere.

纽约供应链地图公司Altana首席执行官埃文·史密斯称，中国遍布全球的港口网络及港口管理软件，让中国官员能详细掌握跨国企业供应链动态，及时察觉企业转向其他地区供应商的动向。

A severe housing downturn has left China’s economy heavily dependent on a trade surplus that has shattered previous world records, even as President Trump levied tariffs aimed at eroding that advantage.

中国房地产市场深度低迷使得经济高度依赖屡破世界纪录的贸易顺差，即便特朗普总统加征关税试图削弱这一优势，情况也未改变。

今年中国汽车销量下降了17%，这促使中国汽车制造商进一步转向全球市场。

On Tuesday, China’s General Administration of Customs announced that the country’s trade surplus narrowed slightly to $265 billion in the first three months of this year, as the cost of oil imports rose.

周二，中国海关总署公布，受石油进口成本上涨影响，今年一季度贸易顺差小幅收窄至2650亿美元。

Car sales in China have plunged 17.4 percent so far this year, prompting automakers to turn outward . Car exports soared 50.3 percent in the first three months of this year. The export surge is raising concerns about job losses in the West and in developing countries like Malaysia, Mexico and Brazil.

今年以来，中国汽车销量暴跌 17.4%，促使汽车制造商将目光投向海外。一季度汽车出口激增50.3%。出口猛增引发西方及马来西亚、墨西哥、巴西等发展中国家对就业岗位流失的担忧。

China’s new supply chain rules come a year after it imposed strict export controls on rare earth metals and rare earth magnets, which are essential to a wide range of industries.

中国出台新供应链规定前一年，曾对稀土及稀土磁体实施严格出口管制，这些材料是众多行业的关键原料。

Initially aimed at the United States in response to President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the restrictions have also curtailed shipments to the European Union over the past year, reflecting China’s opposition to European tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars.

管制最初针对美国，回应特朗普的“解放日”关税；过去一年，限制范围也扩大至欧盟，这反映了中国对欧盟对进口中国电动汽车征收关税的反对立场。

上个月，在中国东部山东省烟台市的一个码头，工人们正将尿素肥料装载到货轮上准备出口。

In a report released Tuesday, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China strongly criticized China’s growing use of export controls, particularly on rare earths. A survey found that the restrictions have affected European companies across a wide range of industries, although not in food, beverages, retail and education.

在周二发布的一份报告中，中国欧盟商会强烈批评中国日益频繁使用出口管制，尤其是稀土管制。调查显示，这些限制影响了欧洲众多行业企业，但食品、饮料、零售及教育行业除外。

“There is now a recognition that China’s emerging export-control regime poses a long-term business risk, given that the ability to export a particular item could be taken away at any point based on political rather than security factors,” the report said.

“如今各方意识到，中国正在成型的出口管制体系构成长期商业风险，特定商品的出口权可能随时因政治因素、而非安全因素被剥夺，” 报告称。

The issuance of new supply chain regulations comes as thousands of auto executives and engineers prepare to gather in Beijing next week for the city’s auto show.

新供应链法规出台之际，数千名汽车行业高管与工程师正准备于下周齐聚北京，参加当地车展。