The draft, consisting of seven chapters and 57 articles, was submitted on Monday to an ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for a first reading, according to China Daily.
"Antarctica remains the only continent without a clearly defined sovereign claim and is mainly governed through international mechanisms such as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting," Lu Xinshe, head of the NPC Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, told lawmakers while explaining the draft.
Lu said international governance of Antarctica largely depends on each country's capabilities in conducting Antarctic activities and its influence in shaping international legal frameworks and behavioral norms. He noted that most of the 29 consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty have enacted national legislation specifically addressing Antarctic affairs.
The draft law, he said, will help present China's concepts and institutional framework for participating in Antarctic governance to the international community, clarify its policy positions, and contribute what he described as Chinese wisdom and solutions to managing international affairs in the Antarctic region.
