Report on the Second Meeting of the Sino-European Expert Working Group on the Application of International Law in Cyberspace

The China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), EU Cyber Direct – EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and Xiamen University are pleased to share a report from the second meeting of the Sino-European Expert Working Group on the Application of International Law in Cyberspace (EWG-IL) that was held in Geneva and online from 22 to 23 June 2022. The working group provides a platform for exchanges to examine the application of international law in cyberspace and promote exchanges among Chinese and European legal experts on their legal positioning across diverse cyber scenarios.

The second meeting of the EWG-IL comprised four thematic sessions on cyber sovereignty, due diligence, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the law of armed conflicts. The report summarises the discussions and main outcomes of these thematic sessions. Overall, it is to be commended that the participants approached this meeting in a constructive way, allowing for interesting and fruitful discussions, including on convergences and divergences among the Chinese and European participants, and on determining possible topics and formats for further engagements.