Posted in Coronavirus, Labor Law, OtherWith the growing concern about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”) some foreign nationals who live outside the U.S. have decided to fly to the U.S. and wait out the crisis. This article discusses the related visa and immigration issues, and what U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires to admit someone into the U.S.
Posted in AntitrustOver the last three decades, government antitrust enforcers and private plaintiffs in the United States have increasingly sought to apply U.S. antitrust laws to conduct by foreign businesses that is deemed to have effects on the U.S. economy. Many of these foreign businesses have been located in Asia: since the 1990s there have been waves of U.S. criminal prosecutions and civil cases alleging anticompetitive conspiracies between Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese sellers and manufacturers. For most of this time, however, companies in mainland China—despite being the largest exporters of goods to the United States, first in Asia and now in the entire world—have rarely been targeted for U.S. antitrust enforcement. Continue Reading
Posted in AntitrustOn September 28, 2017, Judge Edward Davila dismissed an antitrust complaint filed by Optronic Technologies, Inc. (dba Orion) against Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd., Sunny Optics, Inc. and Meade Instruments Corp. The case is Optronic Technologies, Inc. v. Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd., Case No. 5:16-cv-06370-EJD (N.D. Cal.). Defendants are represented by Leo Caseria and Mike Scarborough of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. Continue Reading
In April of 2017, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (“SPP”) passed and released a new judicial interpretation dealing with criminal infringement of citizens’ personal digital information (the “SPC Data Privacy Interpretation”)[1]. Approved and promulgated, the SPC Data Privacy Interpretation came into effect on June 1, 2017, and it enhances and clarifies existing criminal codes that deal with illicit possession, handling, and distribution of citizen’s digital personal information[2]. Continue Reading
Posted in Tax LawIn order to promote venture capital investment and to support small to middle sized business, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have jointly promulgated the Circular on Pilot Tax Policies for Venture Capital Firms and Individual Angel Investors (Cai Shui [2017] No. 38 ) (the “Circular“) on April 28, 2017. The tax policy will be provisional in the pilot areas of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shanghai, Guangdong, Anhui, Sichuan, Wuhan, Xi’an, Shenyang, and Suzhou Industrial Park. Continue Reading
Posted in Global TradeFollowing the depreciation of Chinese currency RMB and the reduction in China’s foreign exchange reserves[1], foreign companies and individuals in China have met hurdles in moving their money out of China, and overseas companies have experienced delays of payments by their Chinese business partners. This article will discuss the recent tightened controls over capital outflows from China to overseas and offer the best practical solutions to accelerate the funds transfer progress. Continue Reading
On June 14, 2016, the State Council issued Opinions on Establishing the Fair Competition Review System in the Development of Market System (hereinafter “Opinions”), which finally uncovers the veil of this system. Fair competition review system was first mentioned in Opinions on Promoting Further Systemic and Institutional Reforms to Accelerate Implementation of Innovation-Driven Development Strategies, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on March 13, 2015, indicating “break the local protection, sort out and abolish the rules and practices impeding the formation of an unified national market, rectify the improper subsidies or the act to restrict or exclude competition by making use of the administrative power by local governments, and explore and implement the inspection system for a fair competition.”
Posted in Foreign Direct InvestmentFollowing a surge of investment in China’s general aviation sector around 2013, the sector has experienced down-turns due to the overall slowing of the economy in 2015. On May 17, 2016, the General Office of the State Council announced a guideline to boost China’s general aviation (“GA”)[1] industry, named the Guiding Opinions to Promote the Development of the General Aviation Industry (Guo Ban Fa [2016] No. 38) (“Guideline”). The Guideline marks the first time the state council, the highest administrative organ, has made plans to boost the development of China’s GA industry[2].
Posted in Foreign Direct InvestmentThe Ministry of Transportation issued the revised Provisions on the Administration of Business Licensing for General Aviation (Order of the Ministry of Transportation [2016] No. 31)(“Order No. 31”) on April 7, 2016. Order No. 31, which became effective on June 1, 2016 amended the Provisions on the Administration of Business Licensing for General Aviation issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2007 (Order of the Civil Aviation Administration of China [2007] No. 176) (“Order No. 176”).
Posted in Capital MarketsThe State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) issued a Notice on Foreign Exchange Administration Issues concerning Investment in the Interbank Bond Market by Foreign Institutional Investors (the “Notice”) on May 27, 2016, which further clarifies the supervision and administration of the investment in the interbank bond market by foreign institutional investors.
