What's behind China's first national security probe into foreign trade?

China has taken a major step forward in refining its economic and trade governance by launching its first-ever national security probe in the foreign trade sector, with experts highlighting it as a lawful, restrained and proportionate response amid US sanctions.

As part of a series of countermeasures responding to recent US restrictive trade acts, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Wednesday that it has opened a 12-month national security investigation into imported office equipment with printing and copying functions that is equipped with foreign system software.

As the country's first foreign trade national security probe, the review will assess import volumes, security risks, foreign reliance, domestic industry capabilities and foreign policy impact through written questionnaires, public hearings, on-site inspections and commissioned studies, according to MOFCOM.

Data shows that imported printers and copiers make up nearly 50% of China's market by sales volume and value, significantly impacting the local industry. Chinese producers with complete independent intellectual property rights hold less than 25% of the market share.

Shi Xiaoli, director of the World Trade Organization Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, said such a national security probe is both timely and necessary.

"It is essential to deploy this foreign trade security tool to gain an accurate picture of imports, objectively assess the impact on our domestic industry, and fully evaluate how these imports, along with related foreign government policies, affect our national security interests," Shi said in an interview with Xinhua.

Should the investigation establish a national security risk, authorities are legally empowered to impose necessary trade countermeasures to protect the country's security and development, she added.

Shi also stressed that China's security investigation targeting imported printers and copiers is "lawful, reasonable, and proportionate."

"The scope of this investigation is highly restrained and directly linked to genuine national security concerns," she said.

"This sets it apart from certain countries that launch sweeping national security probes across entire industries and supply chains on imports with no real security connection," she added.

Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, noted the current probe is the first application of the national security provisions in China's revised Foreign Trade Law.

Adopted on December 27, 2025 and effective from March 1, 2026, the revised law comes amid profound changes in the global trade landscape and the accelerated restructuring of international rules. It expands China's legal toolkit for foreign trade disputes, establishing a refined framework for countermeasures.

The United States has repeatedly cited and exploited national security risks – its catch-all justifications – to roll out trade restrictions targeting China, and by the principle of reciprocity, China may conduct corresponding trade investigations or introduce certain trade measures on national security grounds, Tu told China Media Group.

Growing geopolitical rivalry has created real national security concerns within foreign trade, he added.

However, China exercises great prudence in rolling out such measures and investigations, Tu stressed.

"We follow a thorough, objective process anchored in facts and reasoning," he explained. "Only if a probe confirms that specific trade practices or policies genuinely endanger national security will we take targeted action. And we do not arbitrarily weaponize national security to impose trade barriers."