On December 27, 2025, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) released the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China effective March 1, 2026.The Foreign Trade Law includes a chapter on intellectual property (IP) introducing trade sanctions for IP infringement based when it endangers the order of foreign trade and also targets specific IP licensing practices such as standard validity challenge clauses and portfolio license bundling.

To further optimize the foreign trade environment, the revised law emphasizes strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights concerning foreign trade and establishing a trade adjustment assistance system to stabilize industrial and supply chains.

                                                                                              Source. The National People’s Congress of the PRC