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Abstract

Beijing’s growing global influence has led to increased Chinese participation in various international initiatives, many of which intersect with international law, from trade to climate change. This has prompted scholars to focus more on China’s engagement with international law, aiming to develop effective strategies for interacting with this emerging global power.

Any analysis of international law’s role in a domestic system must consider the relevant actors, their influences, the issues they address, and the prevailing legal regime. This article offers new insights into Chinese policy formation by examining how influential domestic groups impact decision-making on specific public international law issues, their policy preferences, and their level of influence. It focuses primarily on non-state actors operating independently from the formal establishment, including State-owned enterprises (SOEs), private sector firms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), netizens, and media.

This article further examines the roles of these domestic actors within the internal policy-making process regarding matters of international law and how international law, in response, either constrains or empowers these actors.

Finally, this article evaluates how increased participation of non-state actors might impact government accountability. This evaluation considers the broader context of rivalries among ministries and committees within the State Council, the evolving distribution of responsibilities, power dynamics between central and local governments, and the ongoing legal capacity-building efforts of relevant agencies.

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