China Law Podcast

In May, BlackRock CCB Wealth Management became the second foreign-controlled wealth management joint-venture to be granted an operating license by the Chinese government. The JV is majority-owned by the world's biggest asset manager BlackRock with 50.1% stake, while China Construction Bank and Singapore state investor Temasek own 40% and 9.9% respectively. Josh Zhang discusses the development of China’s nascent bank wealth management industry, the key provisions of newly introduced wealth management sales and distribution rules, and the Greater Bay Area Wealth Connect scheme.

Josh Zhang is managing director and head of internal control at BlackRock CCB Wealth Management based in Shanghai.

China has launched a national carbon emissions trading system for the first time, with trading set to begin imminently. Multinationals can expect to be significantly affected by the compliance requirements laid out by the new market, while also standing to profit from the new investment opportunities it presents. Nancy Sun and Andrew Westgate discuss what carbon trading is, how it works, how China’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) compares with other ETSs around the world, and what the opportunities and challenges are for MNCs in China.

Human genetic resources such as organs, cells, and tissue are crucial to the clinical trials that pharmaceutical multinationals conduct in order to get their products registered for use in China, whether it be a new drug or medical device. China's HGR regime was recently elevated to the level of a national statute for the first time when the PRC Biosecurity Law came into effect in April. Tina Wu discusses how China's HGR regulator has enforced strict HGR rules since 2019, including intellectual property co-ownership between foreign and Chinese parties and HGR exports.

With more than 10,000 restaurants in over 1,500 cities in China, Yum China is the biggest restaurant company in China, owning some of the most popular fast-food brands in the country including KFC and Pizza Hut. In 2020, it became the first restaurant company and the first non-TMT company to have a secondary listing in Hong Kong.

National security has driven reforms to foreign direct investment regimes around the world, including the United States, Australia, the EU and China. The U.K. is the latest major economy to join in on the act with its new National Security and Investment Bill, which will for the first time in the country’s history introduce a standalone foreign investment regime similar to the U.S. CFIUS review process. Roger Barron and Garrett Hayes discuss the ins and outs of the new regime: its scope and review timeline, the impact on M&A auctions and completed transactions, and recommendations for Chinese investors.

Roger Barron is Paul Hastings' global vice chair for mergers and acquisitions based in London, who recently provided expert evidence to the U.K. parliament on the proposed National Security and Investment Bill. Garrett Hayes is a corporate partner at Paul Hastings based in London who has considerable experience in cross-border M&A, especially in the telecoms industry.

A year ago, the Supreme People’s Court issued three guiding opinions providing guidance to lower courts on a range of litigation and disputes issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Diane Peng analyzes how the SPC's guidance has played out in litigation proceedings in practice; PRC courts' approach to foreign-related litigation in particular; and key takeaways from COVID-related cases she has worked on.

Hongkong Land is one of Asia’s leading property investment, management and development groups. The long-established real estate developer has a significant presence in mainland China, with an extensive and growing portfolio of commercial and residential projects, which attract some of the world’s biggest retailers and luxury brands. Bobo Xu, Shanghai-based general manager and head of legal for China at Hongkong Land, shares insights on advising on the whole lifecycle of real estate projects in China, navigating challenges posed by the pandemic, developing internal compliance mechanisms, and more.

The pandemic's impact on contracts and relationships between Chinese and foreign parties will be felt in the coming months and years as disputes slowly but surely develop into litigation and arbitration. Jessica Pyman and Mavis Tan discuss what lawyers and businesses need to know to prepare for litigation in China; conducting counterparty and fit to sue assessments on business partners; as well as the key information and analyses needed to inform litigation strategy.

Jessica Pyman is Asia Pacific head of business intelligence at Control Risks, a risk consultancy. Mavis Tan leads the consultancy's forensics practice for Greater China and North Asia. 

The Chinese government has been outspoken in recent years about its desire to improve the business environment for both domestic and foreign companies. Part of its strategy to do so has been the promotion of arbitration by the Chinese judiciary, spearheaded by the Supreme People's Court. At the same time, the Hong Kong government led by its Secretary for Justice, the arbitrator Teresa Cheng, has been eager to promote Hong Kong as a regional dispute resolution hub. Edward Liu discusses the ways in which China is opening its doors to foreign arbitral institutions and the promotion of frictionless arbitration proceedings across the mainland and Hong Kong.

Edward Liu is a legal director advising on disputes and maritime law matters at Hill Dickinson in Hong Kong. Dual-qualified in both England and Wales and in China, Edward is also an experienced arbitrator and mediator and a member of the Hong Kong government’s Advisory Committee on Promotion of Arbitration and its Steering Committee on Mediation. 

The Trump administration has creatively used U.S. export controls and sanctions to further its foreign policy goals, most notably restricting U.S. business dealings with Chinese entities in various technological sectors. Benjamin Kostrzewa and Holly Blackwell discuss the future of the U.S. export controls and sanctions regimes under a new administration; the overarching policy goals and specific policy tools; the implications for international disputes and compliance; and more.

With a new U.S. presidential administration all but confirmed, all eyes now are on how a Biden presidency will differ from its predecessor in terms of its policies towards China. Jeremy Zucker and Yang Wang discuss FDI flows between the two countries, the outlook for cross-border M&A, the potential policy tools used by the Biden administration in this area, and more.

Today’s episode is the first of a two-part special looking at what a Biden administration could mean for U.S.-China business and investment. Next week's episode will cover U.S.-China trade and sanctions policies.

Jeremy Zucker is co-chair of Dechert’s International Trade and Government Regulation practice based in Washington, D.C. He has extensive experience advising on national security reviews of FDI by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Yang Wang is managing partner of Dechert’s Beijing office who focuses his practice on cross-border M&A, private equity, venture capital investments and capital markets.

Established in 2014, the New Development Bank was set up by China and the four other BRICS countries to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other emerging economies. Abhimanyu Ghosh discusses his role at the bank, the bank’s rapid response to COVID-19, setting environmental and social standards for their loans, as well as how working for a multilateral development bank is different from working for a law firm. 

Abhimanyu Ghosh is Senior Counsel at the NDB, based at the bank’s headquarters in Shanghai. The NDB in-house legal team was the winner of the In-House Team of the Year International at the recent 2020 China Law and Practice Awards.

Traditionally, in-house lawyers in China have not been viewed as a core component of business strategy, but this has changed massively in recent years, with in-house counsel increasingly looking to get involved in major decision-making. Myra Gao discusses her role at Danfoss China, the growing attention she pays to export control developments on both sides of the Pacific, the company’s quick and early response to COVID-19, as well as the rapid development of China’s environmental regulations.

Export controls have been one of the main policy tools wielded by the Trump administration in its trade and technology war against China. Now, China has made its first major move in response, with a new law specifically focused on export controls. Nate Bush discusses the scope of items the new law covers, the ways in which it departs from the export control regimes of other countries, the implications for companies from third countries amid worsening US-China relations, and more.

Nate Bush is partner at DLA Piper in Singapore where he heads the firm’s Asia investigations as well as antitrust and competition practices.

This week, the southern major city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen special economic zone, China’s first. Eric Liu discusses Shenzhen’s new five year development plan; loosening of rules surrounding foreign exchange and remittances; imminent stock market reforms, and more.

Eric Liu is Managing Partner of Zhao Sheng Law Firm based in Beijing and Shanghai, where it is in a joint operation with global law firm Linklaters. Eric’s work focuses on cross border M&A and joint ventures, in particular the financial markets and insurance sectors.

In-house legal departments around the world are under more stress than ever, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing massive upheavals to businesses' operations, often at breakneck speed. Judy Wong, group chief legal counsel and chief compliance officer for Tricor, shares insights from her work as the head of the legal team at Tricor, a business expansion consultancy in Asia based in Hong Kong, with 47 offices and 2,700 employees spread out across 21 countries and territories around the world. Judy discusses the company’s operations and strategy in mainland China, as well as the impact of the pandemic on her work.

With arbitration being the preferred method of dispute resolution globally for international commercial contracts, China has recognized the need to modernize its arbitration system and bring it in line with international best practice as it embarks on high-value global investment projects. In this episode, Hu Ke shares insights about Beijing's pro-arbitration strategy; its ties to the Belt and Road and the Greater Bay Area initiatives; major reforms opening up the mainland market to foreign arbitral institutions, and more. 

Hu Ke is a Beijing-based disputes partner at Jingtian and Gongcheng who specializes in international litigation and arbitration.

Chinese FDI in the European Union has skyrocketed over the last decade, increasing by almost 50 times in between 2008 and 2016. However, investment levels have since flatlined and even fallen as a result of both a downturn in China’s domestic economy as well as growing political headwinds in the global business landscape. In this episode, Caroline Thomas and Jay Modrall discuss the new FDI screening regulation coming into effect next month in the EU, as well as an implementation guideline for the regulation issued in March by the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, in response to the pandemic. On the UK side, we discuss what the country’s foreign investment landscape post-Brexit might look like particularly with a new foreign investment screening regime to be introduced in the form of a new piece of legislation set to be tabled in the coming months.

Caroline Thomas is a competition partner at Norton Rose Fulbright based in London with 15 years of experience in advising companies on all aspects of UK and EU competition law, including merger control and state aid. Jay Modrall is also a competition partner at Norton based in Brussels with 27 years of experience advising companies on EU and international competition work, in particular the review and clearance of international mergers and acquisitions.

The rapid growth of the internet economy over recent years has ushered in a new frontier in the ongoing battle between the world’s biggest superpowers: that of data protection. With data being hailed by some as the oil of the 21st century, the battle between states and between companies is not just to see who can collect the most data, but also increasingly to see who can best protect their data from being collected by rival governments and market competitors. 

In this episode, Dr Bo Zhao draws on his comparative research background to share insights on China’s rules and regulations surrounding the cross-border transfer of data and how they compare with other jurisdictions, including the EU and the US. Moreover, we discuss what limits there are on the Chinese government to access data stored in China by Chinese and foreign companies. 

Dr Bo Zhao is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tilburg University School of Law in the Netherlands. Bo’s research covers comparative data privacy protection law, especially cross-border data protection and cybersecurity law and policy issues in China.

With news about Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok dominating headlines, attention is being paid once again to the government body at the center of reviewing inbound foreign investment into the U.S., the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In this episode, Jeremy Zucker and Darshak Dholakia delve into the CFIUS review process and its implications for Chinese investors; the history of the CFIUS review; recent reforms bolstering its powers; the unusualness of the TikTok case; as well as concrete data showing the practical impact of CFIUS on outbound Chinese investment into the U.S.

On May 20, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, a bill that threatens to delist from U.S. stock exchanges foreign companies that use accounting firms that cannot be inspected by U.S. regulators. Although the bill’s provisions apply globally, some apply especially to Chinese companies. In this episode, Shaun Wu sheds light on the accounting concerns that U.S. regulators have regarding Chinese companies, the mechanics of the new proposed law, the uncertainties surrounding its enforcement, as well as practical advice for Chinese companies in light of growing U.S. scrutiny. 

Shaun Wu is a Hong Kong-based partner at Paul Hastings. He leads the firm’s Investigations and White Collar Defense and International Litigation practices in Greater China, representing multinational corporations in high-stakes investigations and regulatory enforcement across the Asia-Pacific.

Just as the United States has beefed up its scrutiny of the supply chains of its critical infrastructure in recent months, China has also launched a new cybersecurity review (CSR) for mitigating the national security risks posed by theirs. In this episode, Barbara Li and Zhou Yang explain the scope and process of the cybersecurity review, the basic steps parties must take in order to comply, the implications for foreign suppliers, and more.

Barbara Li is Head of Corporate at Rui Bai Law Firm in Beijing, where she spearheads the TMT and FinTech practices. She is also former vice chair of the Cybersecurity Sub-Working Group of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

Zhou Yang is a Shanghai-based partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm specializing in TMT and cybersecurity issues.

China finally has a Civil Code after multiple failed attempts at creating one. The Code defines the rights and duties of China’s 1.4 billion citizens and has implications for all segments of Chinese society, from consumers to investors to businesses. In this episode, Ulrike Glueck and Michael Munzinger break down the gigantic piece of legislation into key takeaways for businesses and investors in China. 

Ulrike Glueck is Managing Partner and Head of Corporate of global law firm CMS' Shanghai office. Michael Munzinger is a counsel for CMS, also in Shanghai. 

A strict new national security law has arrived in Hong Kong, marking the most significant shakeup to the city’s relationship with the mainland since the handover more than two decades ago. In this episode, three lawyers analyze the implications for businesses of the new law as well as the U.S. response in the form of sanctions and greater export control restrictions.

Thomas So is a Hong Kong-based partner at Mayer Brown and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Wendy Wysong is Hong Kong managing partner at global law firm Steptoe & Johnson. She is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement in the Department of Commerce. Nick Turner is Hong Kong-based of counsel at Steptoe & Johnson. He was previously regional sanctions officer, senior vice president at Citibank in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's special trade status is in jeopardy - but what does it actually mean? In this episode, Wendy Wysong and Ali Burney explain what Hong Kong could lose if its special treatment under U.S. law is revoked, especially when it comes to U.S. export control regulations - a key area of U.S. law that has been front and center of the Trump administration's campaign against Chinese businesses, most notably ZTE and Huawei. 

Wendy Wysong and Ali Burney are partners at global law firm Steptoe & Johnson. Wendy is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement in the Department of Commerce who previously represented Chinese telecom giant ZTE in their five-year multi-agency investigation in the U.S. Ali also has extensive experience in economic sanctions and export controls, having also worked previously in Washington, D.C. at the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the Department of Treasury.