China’s Revised Defense Mobilization Law Touches Nearly Every Sector
The revised National Defense Mobilization Law came into effect on October 1, the first major overhaul of the statute since it was created in 2010. The revision widens the circumstances under which mobilization can be declared, obliges private organizations to assist in mobilization, and allows the state to levy or expropriate anything required for mobilization. It defines defense mobilization as steps taken by the state in response to threats to national sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security and "development interests".
Why it matters: The revision extends military-civil fusion by giving the state explicit authority to collect and use defense-related data and to treat a broad share of the civilian economy as a contingency-based defense asset, with implications for foreign firms and for economic disputes beyond Taiwan.