"Xi’s ideas of law are more deceitful because they use familiar terms such as “rule of law,” “law-based” and “justice.” In practice, Xi increasingly uses law as a weapon to crack down on dissent to ensure regime security, while simultaneously employing it as a weapon in the CCP’s quest for world hegemony.
China’s legal theory and practice are copied from the Soviet Union. Like the Soviets, the CCP’s dictators are never shy of saying that law is the party’s instrument to destroy enemies. The party’s absolute control over China’s judicial system is the principal component of Xi’s lawfare strategy. He reiterates that “if the party is above the law, or the law above the party, it is a political trap and a false proposition.” The leadership of the party is the soul of China’s rule of law and only the party can effectively advance it. In short, the Communist Party always remains above the law."
"Xi trumpets “rule of law” rhetoric to hide his lawfare."
"This lawfare of “legal hostage” was designed to force the U.S. to give up its extradition request for Meng and let her walk free. In March, China put Kovrig and Spavor on trial separately, without issuing verdicts — typical lawfare to degrade the enemy’s will to fight."
"Accordingly, the U.S. and its allies must see China’s strategic intent and practice of lawfare and formulate a strategy to counter its weaponization of law."
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/546811-the-growing-threat-of-chinas-lawfare/
"the waging of lawfare by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Section I places PRC lawfare in its historical and ideological context, including the Sun Tzu maxim that “defeating the enemy without fighting is the pinnacle of excellence,” the highly instrumental role of law in Maoist doctrine, and the current role of law in Chinese society. It also discusses the PRC’s explicit adoption of lawfare as a major component of its strategic doctrine."
https://academic.oup.com/book/26052/chapter-abstract/193978221?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
"Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in legal warfare or “lawfare.” While the U.S. is focusing on the interplay between the law and counterinsurgency operations, China is approaching lawfare from a different perspective: as an offensive weapon capable of hamstringing opponents and seizing the political initiative. Indeed, Chinese planners are almost certainly preparing legal war plans aimed at controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy. Consequently, the United States must take steps to prepare for the possibility of legal warfare and incorporate defensive measures into its strategic, operational, and tactical policies."
https://www.heritage.org/asia/report/winning-without-fighting-chinese-legal-warfare
"Law is increasingly being used as a weapon of war. Unable or unwilling to challenge other states militarily, states and non-state actors use legal strategies to weaken the enemy’s legitimacy. Such “lawfare” can be used to achieve a kinetic objective, to forestall one, to degrade the enemy’s will to fight, and to shape the narrative of war"
"The Chinese military prioritizes lawfare as one of the “Three Warfares” that shape its military’s influence operations. Meanwhile, the U.S. has no similar lawfare doctrine or strategy, even as China forces it to fight back. This Article argues that the U.S. needs to develop a lawfare strategy to combat its adversaries."
https://www.cornelllawreview.org/2021/09/23/law-as-a-battlefield-the-u-s-china-and-the-global-escalation-of-lawfare/
"The U.S. legal system is the envy of the world. U.S. courts are known worldwide for their fairness and efficiency, and tens of thousands of international students flock to U.S. law schools every year to learn the American way of law. Yet U.S. adversaries—especially China—have long understood something the U.S. national security community is only starting to learn: how to use “lawfare,” or law as a weapon of war. The U.S. military must develop a more comprehensive lawfare strategy to be able to combat its adversaries. By doing so, the United States can win on the battlefield and carry the moral narrative of war.
What is Lawfare?
State and non-state actors have long been using lawfare against the United States. Lawfare can be used to achieve traditional military objectives or to shape the conditions to enable traditional military actions to succeed."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jillgoldenziel/2021/08/03/the-us-is-losing-the-legal-war-against-china/?sh=3015cac96cab
"However, in today’s era of Great Power competition, Russia and China expertly combine lawfare with information operations, while the U.S. Government, possessing substantial capacity, has no overarching lawfare strategy."
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/JFQ/Joint-Force-Quarterly-107/Article/Article/3197205/great-power-use-of-lawfare-is-the-joint-force-prepared/
Yes, there is consensus that ‘lawfare’ exists…but America still needs a strategy for it
https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2021/09/23/yes-there-is-consensus-that-lawfare-exists-but-america-still-needs-a-strategy-for-it/