China and extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction

This chapter opens with a brief historical overview of events leading to the modern state of China. We consider the constitutional context in which extraterritoriality is regulated in China and provide examples of assertions of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction and the regulation thereof. Chapter 2 concludes with observations about exercises of extraterritorial jurisdiction by the Chinese state, including that China’s legal frameworks reflect strong assertions of the nationality principle, including the passive and a domestic-centred approach to universal jurisdiction. We also note that, due to the role played by courts in the Chinese legal system, assertions of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction by China are as much as question of policy as law.