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Keep calm and arbitrate: Politics and international arbitration
Recent political developments have resulted in considerable geopolitical uncertainty and presented challenges to the international order. With the UK’s vote to exit the EU, the election of Donald Trump as US president, Western sanctions...
National legislation beefs up online regulatory practice
Online businesses and internet users cannot turn a blind eye to the great influence of recent legislation out of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislative body.
The much-anticipated National Security Law was issued and...
China joins international tax co-operation network
On 27 August 2013, China signed the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which expands China’s tax information exchange network to include information on turnover, consumption and property taxes. This information...
Restrictive state immunity
MORE THAN SIX YEARS AGO, this column discussed the doctrine of state immunity and how it was interpreted and applied in various jurisdictions, including the UK, mainland China and Hong Kong (see China Business...
Is it illegal to use another’s game licence?
Since the implementation of the Administrative Regulations on Internet Publishing Services in 2016, the national publishing administrative authorities have continually tightened the approval and supervisory rules of game publishing licences. Possessing such a licence...
Practice, prospects of substantive consolidation
The group economy is derived from the market-oriented and large-scale development of the modern economy. However, any debt problem in a group economy is more likely to cause widespread and systemic risks amid continued...
Governance and foreign-invested enterprises under new Company Law
Following the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, the three previous laws governing foreign investment – the Law on Chinese-foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Law on Foreign-capital Enterprises, and the Law on Chinese-foreign Contractual...
New laws tighten DSOs’ criminal compliance obligations
The revised Company Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (SCNPC) on 29 December 2023, marking the most extensive amendments to the Company Law since 1993.
It primarily addresses adjustments...
What new Company Law means for foreign investment in China
On 29 December 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China promulgated the amended Company Law, after its deliberation of four versions of draft amendments in the past three years. The...
Gears changing
Path to internationalisation of arbitration in China
Jiang Lili - BAC/BIAC
Innovative rules, upgraded mechanism
Wang Chengjie - CIETAC
Swift winds of change sailing foreign-related maritime arbitration
Li Hu - CMAC
The ‘Asian...
Impact of Criminal Law amendment on top brass of private enterprises
Employees of private enterprises such as senior executives may become the subject of crimes for certain charges under the Draft Amendment (XII) to the Criminal Law, released on 26 July 2023.
The National People’s Congress...
Win-win Resolution
Can China-related verdicts be recognised and enforced abroad? Kevin Cheng reports on positive developments with dispute mechanisms and more
Justice is universally accepted by most societies, but not judgments. The rest of the world has...
Draft changes to proportional capital reduction rules
The Company Law (Third Review Draft), deliberated by the 5th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress on 1 September 2023, for the first time adds a provision (article 224)...
Equity transfers under revised company law
The much anticipated Company Law of China (Third Draft for Revision) was reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and opened for public comment on 1 September 2023.
This article focuses on...
Changes to foreign-related sections of Civil Procedure Law
The Civil Procedure Law was promulgated in 1991 and underwent revisions in 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2021. However, the revisions did not bring substantive modifications to the sections related to foreign affairs. As China...
Key revisions to the Administrative Reconsideration Law
On 1 September 2023, the revised Administrative Reconsideration Law (the new ARL) was adopted at the fifth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, and is expected to come into force on 1 January...
Analysing new rules for managing private investment funds
The new Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Private Investment Funds come into force on 1 September. This article analyses the significance and main provisions of the regulations.
China’s private fund industry has developed...
Auto product liability disputes: recommended responses
Under article 43 of the Product Quality Law, “if a defect in a product causes personal injury or damage to property of other party, the party which was injured or incurred damage may...
NPC extends supportive tax, fee cut policies
Existing tax and fee cut policies were extended by the 14th National People’s Congress in March, on approving the National Economic and Social Development Plan of 2023.
According to the government's estimation, the extension or...
IP protection in the ChatGPT era
ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools are demonstrating admirable comprehension and conversational skills, enabling them to solve various generic issues in a growing number of areas. Although the technology is not yet self-aware,...
Strengthened women’s workplace law now in effect
The Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women was revised and passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 30 October 2022. It was implemented from 1 January...
Calm resilience
Years of market disruption and uncertainty have left China's business warier but wiser. Anticipating a year of revival and growth, in-house legal heads prioritise sustainability of the future over a speedy compensation for the...
Time for plan B?
Misunderstood by many, the bankruptcy regime in China requires urgent legislative and administrative upgrades to inject market logic into the economy. As Luna Jin reports, meaningful endeavours are being made to revitalise businesses
Practitioner's Perspective...
Amendments reinforce protection of women’s rights
The newly amended Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women, adopted by the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on 30 October 2022, came into effect on 1...
Analysis of Shanghai’s first data compliance case
A senior executive named Chen and several technicians of Shanghai company Z were investigated by the public security authority for using crawler technology to illegally acquire data from a take-out platform without authorisation between...
Guidance for implementing stamp duty policies
In June 2021, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) officially announced the Stamp Duty Law of China (SD law), which became effective from 1 July 2022. The SD law replaced...
Neglect of liquidation duties by limited company shareholders
Limited liability of shareholders is an important feature of modern companies. Article 3.1 of the Company Law provides that the liability of a shareholder shall be limited to the amount of their capital contribution/the...
Impact of ‘safe harbour’ system on brand price control
The 35th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress adopted the new Anti-Monopoly Law on 24 June 2022, which will come into force on 1 August 2022. Compared with the...
Dissecting merger filing under new AML
Amendments to the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress took effect on 1 August. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) also issued six draft anti-monopoly guidelines for...
JunHe enhances commercial litigation practice in Hong Kong
JunHe has hired commercial litigation partner Philip Kwok to be based in the Hong Kong office. Previously, Kwok practised at LC Lawyers and Dechert, and he also serves as a member of the InnoTech...
Bright future
China’s new Futures and Derivatives Law is set to push the country’s large but still developing market to align with international practice, with requirements on cross-border trade bringing in fresh compliance pressures. Luna Jin...
Landmark AML reforms modernise enforcement
In June, the National People’s Congress 13th Standing Committee approved far-reaching amendments to the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) that become effective from 1 August.
Alongside the amendments, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has issued...
The practice of arbitrating derivatives disputes
A wholly foreign-owned bank in China established by a leading global commodity derivatives trading bank group (the claimant), and a large Sino-foreign joint venture non-ferrous metal smelting and processing enterprise (the respondent) entered into...
Why Chinese entrepreneurs reject family trusts – Part II
Family trusts are starting to take off in mainland China, but their target clientele, high-net-worth entrepreneurs, still harbour doubts and misunderstandings about the rising business. These include concerns about the complexity of the family...
Planned revisions to law for OPCs limited by shares
In proposed amendments to the Company Law now under review by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, key provisions intend to formally establish the legal status of one-person companies (OPCs) limited by...
Third-party supervision in rectifying corporate compliance
On 8 December 2021, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) issued the second batch of Enterprise Compliance Model Cases, consisting of six cases involving such crimes as collusion in bidding, passing off a registered trademark,...
Director’s liquidation liabilities in Company law draft amendment
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is reviewing a new draft amendment to China’s Company Law, issued on 22 December 2021. The draft revision seeks to improve corporate governance and benefit companies...
Needs of the many
With a state-led "common prosperity" philanthropy campaign well underway, what options do private enterprises have? Jasmine Wen reports
“Common prosperity”, a Marxist vision, has been brought up by successive Chinese leaders. However, it was not...
Amended Civil Procedure Law’s impact on commercial disputes
A decision to amend the Civil Procedure Law was adopted at the 32nd session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress on 24 December 2021. The newly revised law, which came...
Refining the rescue
Bankruptcy reorganisations have gone mainstream in the past few years, a process stoked by the pandemic, as both private and state-owned businesses have sought ways to restructure their bad debts. China has taken significant...
Professional sports deserve professional arbitration system
Disputes involving athletes draw greater attention in the era of professional sports, with their great wealth and commercialisation. In particular, disputes between star players and their clubs or national teams have aroused widespread concern...
China establishes comprehensive information protection
On 20 August 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL). With the PIPL, China is stepping into a more robust and comprehensive personal information protection...
Sea change
A wave of new regulations has heightened the data compliance requirements for internet platforms. Ke Holdings general counsel Chen Yan shares his company’s experience of adapting and evolving to fulfil the new obligations
IN THE...
Amendment to Work Safety Law issued
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress amended the Work Safety Law On 10 June 2021, introducing several new rules and increasing sanctions for non-compliance. The amended law will take effect on 1...
China expands AML/CTF obligations
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing of Financial Institutions, recently promulgated by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), came into effect on 1 August 2021. Among other...
Proposed legislative reform for family trusts
China’s high net worth individual (HNWI) population has significantly increased in the past decade, making family trusts an increasingly important tool for wealth management and succession planning. Despite the increasing need for family trusts,...
Advantages of mediation in securities investment disputes
Losses on investments in wealth management products are a common source of disputes between investors and firms that deal in securities and futures. In recent years, securities investment dispute cases have shown explosive growth,...
Star struck
The Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board has been a stellar success, even in the past year, paving the way for broader changes to Mainland capital markets. With these reforms, A-shares now...
Three major changes in draft Data Security Law
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee conducted the initial review of the second review draft of the Data Security Law in June 2020. The draft makes three major changes to the law:
(1) it standardises...
China’s draft data protection law creates new risks
On 30 April 2021, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee released the second review draft of the Personal Information Protection Law for public consultation. The draft marks the development...
China Business Law Awards 2021
China Business Law Awards 2022
China Business Law Awards 2020
China Business Law Awards 2019
China Business Law Awards 2017-18
China Business Law Journal’s editorial team reveals the law firms that shone in 2020
Let’s turn the clock back...
New jurisdictional regulations for cross-border financial disputes
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has released the Regulations on the Jurisdiction of Beijing Financial Court over Cases (Beijing regulations), and subsequently revised the Regulations on the Jurisdiction of Shanghai Financial Court over Cases...
Examining the Patent Law’s fourth amendment
The Decision on Amending the Patent Law was deliberated on and adopted at the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress, and the amended Patent Law will be officially...
Solving the IP puzzle
The blueprint for China’s top-down intellectual property (IP) reforms includes piecing together major judicial and legislative change, solving problems that have affected enterprises for decades. But do the changes go far enough? Luna Jin...
Law reform
It is easy for law to become outdated and to lose touch with contemporary concepts and values. In addition, the ever-changing nature of society and human behaviour means that new areas of law and...
Deals of the year 2020
Deals of the year 2022
Deals of the year 2021
Deals of the year 2019
China Business Law Journal’s editorial team has selected the top China-related deals for 2020, recognising their outstanding achievements
The pandemic of...
Analysis of types of security in the Civil Code
On 28 May 2020, the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress passed the Civil Code. On the basis of the original Property Law, Security Law, Contract Law and other legal norms, the...
New Export Control Law rolled out
From 13-17 October 2020, the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress deliberated on the third review draft of the Export Control Law (ECL) before its final passage into...
Proposed patent linkage system a milestone
On 17 October 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed an amendment to the Patent Law, which includes an outline provision on a patent linkage system. The amendment leaves it to...
Issues needing attention within Export Control Law
After three deliberations, the Export Control Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 17 October, and enters into force on 1 December 2020. This article focuses on the...
Latest judicial practice on protection of trade secrets
Protection of trade secrets has always been a hot issue, and it is also one of the core contents of the phase-one economic and trade agreement signed between China and the US in January...
Toil and trouble
China’s economy is recovering from the pandemic ahead of the rest of the world, but in-house counsel now face an increasingly tense international political theatre and an enormous uptick in regulatory and compliance-related work....
When the going gets tough
China’s legal services market is navigating a tumultuous period of change. Our annual survey looks at how firms are performing, and what strategies they have in place to see them through the storm, while...
Bond trustee system: A new opportunity
How to prevent and reduce the legal risks in the bond market has always been an issue discussed by the legislative, judicial and regulatory bodies in China. On 27 December 2019, the National Association...
Over the peak?
Businesses restarting after the pandemic-induced pause face new legal headaches surrounding declines in demand and disruptions to global supply chains. How should in-house counsel manage these and other risks? Luna Jin reports
Perhaps necessity is...
Applying Securities Law to interbank bonds
The Securities Law is the fundamental law governing China’s capital market, coming into force on 1 July 1999. The Securities Law was amended in late 2019, in its second overhaul since it came into...
Flight of the black swan
Despite some inspiring legislative reform, companies in China are going through a crucial test this year. Those that survive will have proven the strength and resilience of their business models. Frankie Wang asks senior...
Data protection and cybersecurity trends in 2020
The Cybersecurity Law, which came into force on 1 June 2017, marks that China has initially established a legal framework for cybersecurity and personal information protection. Since then, China has issued a series of...
Updates to Draft Export Control Law
On 28 December 2019, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) released a new draft of the Export Control Law (ECL), an update from the 2017 version circulated by MOFCOM.
The 2019 draft...
Forging ahead
As China Business Law Journal celebrates the 10th anniversary of its founding, we asked senior in-house counsel and lawyers about what they regard as the standout legal trends and developments of the past decade....
Bad faith filing
After the fourth revision of the Trademark Law, is filing a trademark without intention to use an act of bad faith?
On 23 April 2019, the National People’s Congress of China adopted a revised...
Highlights of changes in draft VAT law
On 27 November 2019, China released its Value-added Tax Law of People’s Republic of China (consultation draft) for the legislation process of the VAT regime. The public comment period for the draft VAT law...
Contract validity: Beware of ministerial-level regulations
For the longest time, judicial and theoretical circles have held a common belief that, pursuant to the Contract Law and its judicial interpretations, a contract is invalid only if it violates laws formulated by...
Practical issues regarding commercial bribery
Q: Does commercial bribery have different traits in different industries? Take pharmaceutical companies and hospitals for example; to what extent will their close interaction be qualitatively defined as commercial bribery?
A: “Commercial bribery” is a...
What’s in the Pharmaceutical Administration Law amendment?
On 26 August 2019, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress voted for the Amendment to the Pharmaceutical Administration Law, which will come into force on 1 December 2019. The amendment included strict...
China’s dispute journey
As China becomes a global economic heavyweight, cross-border commercial disputes are also increasing rapidly, making international dispute resolution one of the most promising businesses in the legal services sector. Given this big market, many...
Fourth revision of PRC Trademark Law
This partial, but fast, revision of the PRC Trademark Law is probably one of the consequences of the ongoing trade negotiations between China and the United States. The revision focuses on two important issues:...
Technified
China’s eagerly awaited Science and Technology Innovation Board opens a key financing channel for innovative tech and will have a profound impact on China’s capital market, writes Luo WeiTeng
Shouldering the dream of a Chinese...
Trademark Law amendments and new brand protection highlights
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress amended the Trademark Law on 23 April 2019. Although it seems to change few contents in this amendment, it grasps firmly three controversial focuses in practical...
Foreign favours
The recently passed Foreign Investment Law marks China’s new regulatory framework for foreign investors. We consult some experts for their informed analysis
The National People’s Congress passed the Foreign Investment Law (FIL) on 15 March...
The smart warrior
Protecting intellectual property in China requires good strategy, and foreign businesses too often show weakness through ignorance. Richard Li explores the latest laws and trends, and asks what weapons corporate counsel need to be...
Revised law expands powers for corruption trials
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, on 26 October 2018, passed the revised PRC Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), which introduces, among other things, the “default judgment” and “immediate judgment” procedures in criminal...
Pooling resources
M&A activity is undergoing a resurgence and there are now plenty of fish in the sea for acquirers looking to hook up with undervalued companies. Paul Cheuk reports
2018 was a year of turmoil for...
New year, more compliance
China will introduce a raft of evolutionary legislation this year, even as regulatory reach from overseas closes in on business within the nation, writes Luo Weiteng
With the Belt and Road Initiative in full swing,...
Legislation on personal bankruptcy should be on agenda
In his report on the efforts of people’s courts on enforcement difficulties since 2016, before the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on 24 October 2018, Zhou Qiang, the Chief Justice and President of...
Data overdrive
AlixPartners’ director David White has served as special e-discovery counsel for numerous multinational Fortune 100 companies and has investigated financial fraud as part of the US Department of Justice’s multi-agency bank fraud taskforce. China...
Commission promises tougher graft-busting regime
On 20 March 2018, the National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the Supervision Law detailing the powers and responsibilities of the National Supervision Commission.
The new commission is China’s highest anti-graft agency, and was established at...
Heads or tails?
Are Europe’s GDPR and China’s Cybersecurity Law two sides of the same coin? Lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis’s Hong Kong, Shanghai and London offices give a practical primer for global compliance
The EU’s General Data Protection...
Collective labour disputes involving strikes
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in February 2001. The fourth item of paragraph 1 of article 8 of the covenant above...
Determination of IP infringement damages in China
The 13th Five-Year Plan for National Intellectual Property Protection and Utilization, promulgated in December 2016, has made it clear that key tasks during the 13th five-year plan period include enforcing IP protection, further increasing...
Dancing in unison
In the Year of the Dog, compliance will be an increasingly big challenge that companies have to face, writes Joanna Law
The year of 2017 was a robust and evolutional period for China. The 19th...
The necessity of a personal bankruptcy system in China
The basic law establishing China’s current bankruptcy system framework is the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, adopted by the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress on 27 August 2006. From its name and contents...
State immunity
ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW – particularly as they concern relations between states and the principles that govern them – rarely become relevant in commercial transactions. One situation in which these issues become relevant, however, is...
Trade secret protection under amended competition law
The amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law, officially adopted by the National People’s Congress standing committee on 4 November 2017, will be implemented as of 1 January 2018. Compared with the existing Anti-Unfair Competition Law, which...
Enterprise big data strategy and compliance
There is no time at which an enterprise is not required to access and use big data in its product research and development, precision marketing, customer service, order processing and production management. Big data...
IP issues related to internet sales by foreign enterprises
In contemporary business, the disadvantage of running physical stores without taking account of the internet is very obvious, and virtual online commodity trading unsupported by physical presence can hardly gain a foothold. For this...
Custom and law
AS THIS COLUMN HAS PREVIOUSLY NOTED, over the centuries, lawyers, legislators, judges and many others have debated the nature of law and the essential attributes of law (for a discussion about the nature of law,...
Domestic A-share listing by for-profit educational institutions
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) amended the Education Law on 27 December 2015, revising the provision reading “no organization or individual may establish a school or other educational institution with...
More legal control over unfair competition on the internet
The intense competition on the internet in China has led to frequent occurrences of unfair competition. In the past few years, China’s internet giants such as Baidu, Tencent, Sohu and Qihoo 360 have actively...
From the top
China’s leaders have thrown their weight behind a new drive towards IP rights protection, write Richard Li and Joy Jiao
Backing from the top on intellectual property (IP) rights in China may have been a long time coming, but its...
China issues Environmental Protection Tax Law
Just days before the New Year, China’s National People’s Congress (NOC) standing committee passed the country’s first Environmental Protection Tax Law. The law will replace the existing pollutant discharge fee system with a pollution tax...
Legal systems surrounding cross-border tech transfer
Even though mainland China’s economy is weakening, high-tech exports are reportedly riding a wave of expansion. Compared with traditional tangible goods, technology import and export transactions are playing an increasingly important role in relevant...
One step forward
China’s foreign investment regulation is changing from an approval regime to a record-filing system. Peter Zhang, an experienced in-house counsel in a foreign-invested company, analyzes the practical implications
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 3 September 2016 adopted...
Administration of FIEs further liberalized
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 3 September 2016 passed a decision on amending four laws, including the Law on Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises, and the amendment became effective on 1...
Dispute resolution methods in M&A
In acquisition agreements there is one important provision that fails to draw the attention that it deserves, namely, the provision on the dispute resolution method. According to the author’s experience, in many commercial acquisitions...
Legislative outlook for the Telecom Law
When the first draft of the Telecom Law was circulated in 1980, there was substantial interest surrounding this would-be bedrock telecom legislation. Although never finalized in the decades since, this piece of legislation was...
Compliance system needed for enterprise bankruptcies
The Enterprise Bankruptcy Law was considered and adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 27 August 2006, establishing a market entity withdrawal and rebirth mechanism in legal form for the...
Government mulls more flexible Employment Contract Law
On 29 February 2016, the head of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), Yin Weimin, addressed some publicly expressed concerns that the Employment Contract Law (ECL) imposes too high a burden...
Legislative protection for key information infrastructure
Key infrastructure is vital to national security, as well as the economic and social development of a nation. Countries around the world pay special attention to key infrastructure when formulating cyber-security strategies and promulgating...
Anti-Unfair Competition Law revisions get tough on bribery
The State Council on 25 February released for public consultation draft amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL), the first time it has done so in more than 20 years since the law’s enactment....
Family Planning Law changes impact leave entitlements
On 27 December 2015, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee adopted changes to the Family Planning Law, which used to encourage couples to marry and give birth later in life (the so called...
NPC fast-tracks emerging cybersecurity regime
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the 9th Amendment to the Criminal Code in August 2015, and the new Anti-terrorism Law about four months later. Both have now come into...
Chinese energy in the midst of intensive adjustment
In a government work report, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated that it was necessary “to expand international cooperation in production capacity”, and the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan calls for low-carbon cycle development and an energy...
Beijing IP Court receives top marks in first year
With the adoption of the decision by the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress to establish intellectual property courts, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court was established in November 2014 and has now...
Building the future
Faced with an economic downturn and a glut of construction materials, China has turned to infrastructure, domestically and abroad, to build a secure future. Alainna Wrigley reports
In mid-October, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that...
Criminal Law amendment imposes tougher sanctions on corruption
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee adopted new amendments to the Criminal Law on 29 August, which became effective on 1 November. The ninth since the law’s passing in 1979, the amendments introduce stricter...
Emission permits required for polluters under revised Air Pollution Law
New amendments to the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law passed by the National People’s Congress aim to combat harmful air emissions at their source by holding both polluters and governments accountable.
The amendments, passed...
