Please join the Center for East Asian Legal Studies for a talk with Junhao Chen, who will explore the aggressive expansion of control by Chinese courts over litigation implicating China’s overseas interests, a strategy that extends beyond critical patents in the telecom sector to cover a broader set of international commercial disputes. A light lunch will be served.
Featured Speaker: Junhao Chen, JSD Candidate, NYU School of Law
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 12:30-1:30 PM
Location: Room 333-201 (UC Law SF, 333 Golden Gate Ave, Room 201)
In 2020, China began asserting judicial authority in ways that encroached upon the legal sovereignty of other jurisdictions around the world, including the United States. The front line of this incursion was an unprecedented wave of “anti-suit injunctions” issued by Chinese courts: judicial orders preventing non-Chinese litigants from suing, or continuing to sue, in other jurisdictions. Many scholars appear to regard these injunctions as reasonable, legitimate tools to protect the integrity of Chinese adjudication. Even those few critics who have raised concerns tend to frame such injunctions as unique features of transnational patent litigation in the telecom sector. Chen’s new article argues that the wave of anti-suit injunctions should be understood, instead, as both the starting point and a crucial element of China’s grand strategy of jurisdictional maximalism: that is, the aggressive expansion of control by Chinese courts over litigation implicating China’s overseas interests. This strategy extends beyond critical patents in the telecom sector to embrace a broader set of international commercial disputes. Drawing on a review of Chinese judicial opinions, official statements, and trends in legal doctrine—most of which are unavailable in English translation—Chen reveals the scale of the emerging jurisdictional paradigm.
Hybrid Event — This event will be live-streamed via Zoom. Virtual attendance is optional.
Click here to RSVP or Register for Zoom
