New Delhi, July 2 -- For any foreign company that transfers technology to a Chinese partner, sends engineers on secondment to a Shanghai facility, or holds a joint venture with a state-owned manufacturer, Wednesday brought a materially changed legal landscape. China's 2026 Outbound Direct Investment Regulation, a 34-article framework enacted by the State Council and taking effect July 2, puts Beijing squarely in the middle of those arrangements in ways the previous framework could not.

personnel reassignments, cross-border training programs, and informal knowledge-sharing arrangements that occur during ordinary commercial operations.

What it adds beyond compliance is the capacity to strike back. Under the new rules, the Chinese governme...