On 6 February 2026, eight PRC authorities, including the People's Bank of China, jointly issued the Notice on Further Preventing and Addressing Risks Related to Virtual Currencies and Other Matters ("Notice No.42"). On the same day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC") issued the Regulatory Guidelines on the Offshore Issuance of Asset-Backed Securities Tokens Backed by Onshore Assets (the "RWA Issuance Regulatory Guidelines"). Notably, Notice No.42 repeals the 2021 Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks of Speculation in Virtual Currency Trading (Yinfa [2021] No.237, the "No.237 Notice"), which had previously served as the principal framework document governing virtual-currency-related activities in the Chinese Mainland. Although Notice No.42 largely preserves the existing regulatory approach, it also introduces several significant adjustments. This article highlights the key changes brought about by Notice No.42.

The EU's Capital Requirements Directive VI (Directive (EU) 2024/1619, "CRD 6" or the "Directive") entered into force on 9 July 2024 and will be fully implemented from 11 January 2027, introducing authorisation and compliance requirements for branches of third-country institutions. Under the Directive, any non-EU bank that provides "core banking services" within the EU must establish a branch in the relevant EU Member State and apply to the local regulatory authorities for authorisation to provide such services, unless it provides such services through an EU-subsidiary. This means that third-country banks that previously relied on Member State legal exemptions to provide cross-border financial services will no longer enjoy such market-entry convenience. At the same time, EU branches of third-country banks will be brought into a unified minimum EU supervisory framework, covering key dimensions such as capital adequacy, liquidity buffers, and internal governance. Together, CRD 6 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 (CRR 3) form a package of EU banking regulation.

On 24 February 2026, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China ("MOFCOM") issued Announcement No.11 and Announcement No.12 of 2026, simultaneously adding a total of 40 Japanese entities to the Export Control List and the Watch List, respectively. Earlier, on 6 January 2026, MOFCOM had already issued Announcement No.1 of 2026, which imposed broader export control rules on exports of dual-use items to Japan involving Japanese military end users, military end uses, and other end users/end uses that may contribute to enhancing Japan's military capabilities. With these three regulatory measures now in effect concurrently, compliance standards applicable to China-based companies' exports to Japan have become materially more stringent, and regulatory scrutiny has tightened further. In this context, relevant companies face more severe compliance challenges and should strengthen compliance management to ensure that Japan-related export business is conducted in strict accordance with applicable laws and regulations.