China passes its first foreign relations law to better safeguard national interests

China's first law on foreign relations, passed by the country's top legislature on Wednesday, is set to take effect on July 1, filling a gap in the rule of law in foreign-related affairs amid complex international situations.

Divided into six chapters, the Law on Foreign Relations of the People's Republic of China mainly focuses on the major policies, the guiding ideology, purposes, principles, tasks and objectives of the country's foreign affairs.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasized that the law lays out general provisions for the development of China's foreign relations.