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38 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 99 (2026)

handle is hein.journals/pacinlwr38 and id is 1 raw text is: DECODING CHINESE LAW IN U.S. COURTS: THE LOGIC OF EXTRA-LEGALITY Tian Xie* ABSTRACT U.S. courts and regulators often face challenges in interpreting Chinese law, as actual regulatory practices frequently diverge from formal legal provisions. This article argues that a strictly formalist approach that relies solely on legal text is inadequate. Instead, U.S. authorities should adopt an extra-legality framework, which considers how Chinese law functions to reinforce political authority while maintaining a legal fagade. The article further illustrates the application of this approach through a case study of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), which pro- vides a more nuanced and realistic understanding of Chinese regulatory practices surrounding U.S. access to audit work papers. Keywords: extra-legality, rule of law, international comity, Holding For- eign Companies Accountable Act, proof of foreign law * J.S.D., Stanford Law School; J.S.M, Stanford Law School; J.D. & Juris Mas- ter, Peking University School of Transnational Law. I thank Curtis J. Milhaupt, Donald C. Clarke, and Andrew Walder for their insightful comments. I am also grateful to the editors at Pace International Law Review. Of course, all errors are my own.