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Introduction

On December 2, 2013, the State Council issued the Circular Concerning Catalogue of Investment Projects Requiring Government Approval (2013 Version) (国务院关于发布政府核准的投资项目目录（2013年本）的通知) (the “2013 Catalogue”) and introduced new changes[1] to governmental approvals falling under the jurisdictions of the two approving authorities, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”). The objective is to overhaul China’s decades-old, approval-based cross-border investment regulatory system that has restricted growth. The liberating effects from less approval requirements are deemed to bring a new boom in outbound investment to both private investors and Central SOEs (state-owned enterprises managed by the central government), covering a wider range of industries apart from natural resources related industries traditionally favored by Central SOEs.Continue Reading China to Relax Governmental Approvals for Outbound Investment

Stricter Blacklist Regime

On December 25, 2013, the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China (“National Health Commission”, former Ministry of Health) issued the amended Provisions Regarding the Establishment of Commercial Bribery Blacklist in the Pharmaceutical Purchase and Sales Industries (“Blacklist Provisions”), which came into effect on March 1, 2014.Continue Reading China Cracking Down On Pharmaceutical Corruption

Companies doing business in China should take careful notice that China is now paying more attention to personal data privacy collection. This would be an opportune time for private companies to internally review existing data collection and management practices, as well as determine whether these fall within the new guidelines, and where necessary, develop and incorporate new internal data privacy practices.
Continue Reading China’s First-Ever National Standard on Data Privacy – Best Practices for Companies in China on Managing Data Privacy

By Ling Zhang

Do you have privacy in the era of information?

"On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog." First published in The New Yorker on July 5, 1993, this widely known and recognized saying has been quoted many times to describe the anonymous feature of Internet. However, now this description has been drifting from the truth.

The truth is that, some people using the Internet may know you better than yourself. When you log on Amazon, not only will the site greet you by name, the homepage will also suggest certain purchases. Surprisingly, you will be interested in at least one third of them. Your addresses have been recorded and Amazon will automatically calculate the delivery period. Besides those online shopping sites, getting visitors’ information is the common practice of online service and/or information providers. Youku and Netflix suggest videos to watch. Weibo and Facebook suggest friends to follow. Douban and IMDB suggest movie tickets to buy and parties to attend.Continue Reading “Actually, Someone Knows You are a Dog”– the Chinese Regulation Efforts on Private Data Protection

By Emily Tsai

The People’s Supreme Court issued a Judicial Interpretation on December 28, 2012, made effective on January 7, 2013, regarding the application of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relationships (the “Law on Application of Laws”, or the “Law”). The Law determines the rules of the application of foreign laws under different scenarios as well as when Chinese law, as opposed to foreign law, applies to specific disputes.Continue Reading Supreme Court Issues Judicial Interpretation to Define Foreign-Related Civil Relationships

Comity among US and Chinese regulators may top this New Year’s wish list for United States-listed companies in China. After a failed six-month pursuit of a diplomatic solution, the SEC revived its federal court petition to force the PRC accounting member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA, Ltd (“DTTC”) to produce audit working papers supporting its China-based audit of Longtop Financial Technologies.

If unresolved, the continued conflict between the mortar of Chinese privacy laws and the pestle of US regulatory pressure raises the possibility of fewer accounting firms that are willing or able to perform public company audits in China.Continue Reading Between Mortar and Pestle: SEC Pressure Grinds Auditors Against PRC State Interests

By James Zimmerman 

On October 9, 2012, the State Council’s Information Office released a white paper on China’s Judicial System and Reform Process. The report reviews China’s judicial system and reform process, and emphasizes the need for judicial institutions to maintain social justice, to improve judicial proceedings and supervision. The white paper also emphasizes the need to respect and protect human rights, and highlights that effective measures continue to be implemented to deter and prohibit confessions through torture, to better protect the rights of criminal suspects and defendants, and to protect the rights of attorneys in the course of performing their professional duties.Continue Reading State Council Issues a White Paper on China’s Judicial System and Reform

By Ling Zhang

On August 31, 2012, China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, approved an amendment (“Amendment”) to the PRC Civil Procedure Law (“CPL”). The Amendment presents the second time in six months that China’s top legislative body has moved to modify China’s most fundamental laws on procedural justice, following the recent amendment to the PRC Criminal Procedure Law in March.Continue Reading New Amendment to PRC Civil Procedure Law: An Analysis

By James Zimmerman

  • CIETAC-Shanghai has declared its independence from CIETAC-China, and claims it’s a separate arbitral institution
  • CIETAC-Shanghai refuses to adopt the more flexible 2012 Arbitration Rules that are effective May 1, 2012
  • Significant risks exists for any party to a contract with a CIETAC clause given the potential for costly debates over jurisdiction, and the parties to a contract with a CIETAC clause would be wise to review their contracts and clarify, if necessary, the institution that they prefer to arbitrate their disputes
  • If a clause calls for arbitration before CIETAC-Shanghai, parties to a contract must decide if they desire to arbitrate under an older and less-flexible set of rules
  • For parties in foreign-related contracts that have the option to choose arbitration offshore, they would be wise to select an offshore forum

Continue Reading Dispute Resolution in China 2012: The Disintegration of CIETAC