Practical legal analysis and guidance on doing business with China, written by our lawyers.
China's 2025 Maritime Code rewrites ship mortgage, the priority of maritime liens and enforcement against a vessel — what a foreign lender must know now that it is in force.
China's Labour Contract Law sets four statutory grounds, a 20/10% threshold, a 30-day procedure and N severance for collective redundancies — how a foreign employer runs a RIF that survives review.
China's 2025 Anti-Unfair Competition Law rewrites false advertising (Article 9) and commercial bribery (Article 8) — fines to RMB 2 million, and punitive damages for trade secrets only.
Most China M&A disputes surface after closing — how Chinese courts treat valuation adjustment mechanisms under the 2019 minutes, and the earn-out, warranty and price-adjustment clauses a foreign buyer must draft for.
China's revised Company Law gives creditors three piercing routes — vertical, horizontal and the one-person-company reversal of proof — and the evidence that actually reaches a parent.
A distressed Chinese debtor leaves a foreign creditor a menu — workouts, debt-for-equity, reorganization, reconciliation or liquidation — and the order in which to use them.
Three CAC instruments, a 2025 content-labeling measure and a draft AI law — the filing, security-assessment and labeling obligations a foreign company faces before deploying AI in China.
China has one of the world's largest BIT networks, but its consent to arbitration is not uniform — how ICSID accession, the Article 25(4) restriction and first- vs second-generation BITs shape a treaty claim.
China's franchise rules are franchisee-protective: a cooling-off right, rescission for false disclosure, and hard eligibility and filing duties — how termination, compensation and IP play out for a foreign franchisor.
A shipbuilding contract is a contract for work, not a sale — and Chinese maritime courts have a specialised claim for it. Where disputes land, how maritime liens and yard liens work, and what foreign owners should fix before keel-laying.
China's Civil Code and IP statutes let courts multiply damages for deliberate, serious infringement — up to five times in trademark, patent and copyright cases. The elements courts actually require.
A foreign divorce decree is not automatically effective in China — a Chinese court must recognise it first, and the recognition covers marital status, not property or custody. The procedure, materials and pitfalls.
China has no statute on litigation finance, courts have been cautious — one Shanghai decision voided a funding agreement on public-policy grounds — while CIETAC's 2024 arbitration rules now require disclosure.
A tax payment dispute cannot go to court until the tax and surcharges are paid or guaranteed and administrative reconsideration has run its course — the double precondition of Article 88 of the Tax Collection Administration Law.
China has no common-law attorney-client privilege, but the Lawyers Law and Criminal Procedure Law impose a statutory duty of confidentiality — with a narrow exception for serious crimes being prepared or committed.
China's 2021 Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, the Blocking Rules and the Unreliable Entity List give Chinese courts and regulators tools to push back on extraterritorial sanctions. What a multinational must know to stay out of the crossfire.
A whistleblower report, a dawn raid or a frozen account rarely arrives with warning. How to run an internal investigation in China, what privilege does not protect, and how compliance-based non-prosecution works.
A foreign supplier that loses a Chinese government tender has a defined ladder of remedies: challenge, complaint, reconsideration and litigation. How the procedure works — and where contract disputes split off from judicial review.
Foreign investment in Chinese schools is tightly restricted: compulsory education is off-limits, and pre-school, high school and higher education require Chinese-foreign cooperative structures. What a foreign institution must know before entering.
Film, broadcasting, online audio-visual, games and music each carry their own licensing and content-approval rules. How foreign media and entertainment companies can navigate the patchwork.
A hotel management agreement in China is a mixed contract of management, brand licence and technical services. The clauses foreign hotel groups must get right, and the IP and dispute points.
Practical traps foreign buyers face at every stage — and how to guard against each one.
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