International Law
China Law Blog 
Focuses on business law in China.
Post Frequency: 3.2/day Last Entry: November 21, 2009 at 11:18:38 Recent Entries: 1020
By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson
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The iPhone In China: Ain't No Mountain High Enough.
Posted on November 21, 2009At least once a week, I will sarcastically say, "I'm from the government and I'm are here to help you." I love blaming the government for just about everything. But even I have my limits. In its post, "The iPhone debate:... [[ This is a content summary only...
Travel Tech for China. My Idiosyncratic Views.
Posted on November 21, 2009I love technology and I am constantly on the road. I definitely fit the definition of "early adapter" and my friends are constantly asking me what technology they should be buying, oftentimes for travel. I just got an email... [[ This is a content summary only...
Will China Create The Next Silicon Valley?
Posted on November 20, 2009Whenever I get together with tech people who have been doing business with China for a few months, they seem to throw out expressions about China like "next Silicon Valley" or "going to be even bigger than Silicon Valley."... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's Microsoft Case. Everyone Just Move Along.
Posted on November 19, 2009I have a new rule. When I get three or more emails on a topic, and at least one of them says something like the following: "Dan, I am sure you are familiar with the recent Microsoft case and already planning to blog on it,... [[ This is a content summary only...
Beware The Potemkin Chinese Company.
Posted on November 19, 2009Anyone and everyone who does business in or with China needs to read these two posts at The Black China Hand. "If I Build a Potemkin Village Will They Come?" and "How to Start a Chinese Company." The first post is about a... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Negotiating Strategy. An Expert's Perspective.
Posted on November 19, 2009Andrew Hupert over at the Chinese Negotiation blog did an interesting and helpful post on negotiating strategy in China in a post entitled, US-China Variation of Prisoners Dilemma -- The Factory Game. In his post, Andrew,... [[ This is a content summary only...
Understanding Labor And Employment Law In China.
Posted on November 18, 2009I am three-quarters of the way through the book, Understanding Labor and Employment Law in China, by Ronald C. Brown. Brown is a Professor of Law and the Chair of the Pacific-Asian Legal Studies Committee at University of... [[ This is a content summary only...
The Talent Difference Between China's Tier 1 And Tier 2 Cities. Let's Get All Snobby About It.
Posted on November 18, 2009China Vortex did an intriguing post a couple of months ago on why China's Tier 2 cities will always be second tier (and I just found this completed but unpublished post today). The post is entitled, "China?s Biggest... [[ This is a content summary only...
Manufacturing Product In China. Trust Yet Verify.
Posted on November 18, 2009In going through old emails this weekend, I came across a rather old email from a long time client/friend, entitled, "You should write about these idiots." I swear this is his language not mine. Anyway, attached was a link... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Food And Drug Outsourcing Gets Criminal. Fast.
Posted on November 17, 2009My law firm has in the last few months been called in a couple of times to assist other law firms in defending federal criminal actions here in the United States arising from Chinese imports. These two cases are still very... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's Corruption Ranking Is Middle Of The Pack. Again.
Posted on November 17, 2009Transparency International just came out with its 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index. I love these things and I think this one, in particular, tends to be quite accurate. Now I am not saying any of these surveys are... [[ This is a content summary only...
China, Glocalization, And The Specter Of Product Liability And More.
Posted on November 16, 2009China Observer just did a fascinating post, entitled, "Reverse Innovation: Made in China - For China," on foreign companies innovating for China. The post is written entirely from a business perspective and its gist is that... [[ This is a content summary only...
The Nine Nations Of China. Help Me Out Here.
Posted on November 16, 2009Atlantic Magazine has a short article up, entitled, "The Nine Nations of China." It is written by Patrick Chovanec, a professor at Tsinghua University, and it basically consists of an interactive map that seeks to make the... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's Food Chain. Nobody Trusts Nobody.
Posted on November 16, 2009The Eileen Eats blog has an excellent, and very scary post up on the state of Chinese food. It is entitled, "Food Safety? Can?t let your guard down," and its money quote is as follows: Hung Huang, chief executive of the... [[ This is a content summary only...
How To Succeed In China: Bribe Everyone, Pay No Taxes And Break The Law.
Posted on November 15, 2009I have been in a long running discussion with an international lawyer (with whom I have worked for nearly a decade and who I greatly respect) in an emerging market country who believes American companies are too... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Using Web Based Evidence In China Courts....And Then Some.
Posted on November 14, 2009China Law Insight blog has a fascinating post (for we nerd lawyers anyway), entitled, PRC Web Page Notarization for Evidence, on what it takes to get a webpage into evidence in a Chinese court. The post starts out noting how... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Domain Name Scams. Just Move Along....
Posted on November 13, 2009If your company has done anything in China (even just sending someone there to meet with a supplier), you have probably received a somewhat official email offering, at a steep price, to "help" you stop someone from taking... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Face. China Heart. Gaming And Internet Businesses Writ Large.
Posted on November 13, 2009A China gaming client recently sent me the link to a very interesting and informative post on China Vortex, entitled, "Chinese Face, Chinese Heart," on Western companies seeking to break into China's internet and/or gaming... [[ This is a content summary only...
Big Foreign Private Equity Performing Badly In China?
Posted on November 12, 2009I do not have any first hand knowledge to support the title. I am basing it on a post I just read (and on related past experience) entitled, "Private Equity in China: Blackstone & Others May Grab the Money But Miss the Best... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Government Procurement: Getting All Clean On Us Now
Posted on November 12, 2009Paul French has written an interesting article for Ethical Corporation magazine, entitled, "Bye-bye backhanders." (h/t China Herald) The article is subtitled, "China?s initiative on removing corruption in tendering for... [[ This is a content summary only...
The Hardest Hardship Posts: China Cities Performing Badly.
Posted on November 12, 2009A reader just sent me an email link to a fairly old (March, 2009) Business Week article pointing out how difficult Chinese cities are in which to work and live. The article is fascinating, but it definitely left me wondering... [[ This is a content summary only...
ISP Liability for Infringing Content: Blogger Beware
Posted on November 12, 2009Chinese ISPs are often criticized for removing content from their sites that anyone suggests may be defamatory or violate some other party's intellectual property rights. This criticism is not really justified because... [[ This is a content summary only...
Forget The Discussion Draft, China's Tort Law Is Already Here.
Posted on November 11, 2009Earlier this month, China's National People's Congress released a discussion draft for a "new" Tort Code. The Draft Tort Code contains little that is new and even less that is interesting. China already has a very complete... [[ This is a content summary only...
Where's China? How 'Bout Estonia, Benin And Belize?
Posted on November 11, 2009I know I ran this a few years ago, but you would be surprised how often people email asking where it is on our site. Rather than having to keep answering those emails, I decided I would run it again. The it is a country... [[ This is a content summary only...
Chinese Employment: Confidentiality Agreements And Noncompetes.
Posted on November 10, 2009I received the following email (modified slightly to protect anonymity): Steve, I wanted to pass some information to you, which you might want to use on your blog, but please keep my name and my company name out of it. We... [[ This is a content summary only...
Govenment Jurisdiction in China. Too Many Cooks....
Posted on November 09, 2009The Chinese government is dealing with many significant issues relating to the economy and to the climate. The two that concern our clients are food safety and energy conservation. The fact that several different Chinese... [[ This is a content summary only...
Doing Business In China. The Regulatory Song Remains the Same.
Posted on November 09, 2009The World Bank recently came out with its yearly report ranking countries on the ease of doing business within them, based mostly on their business regulations The news on China is that there was really no news at all. China... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Overseas: Hurting The Feelings Of The Chinese People
Posted on November 09, 2009The other day I went to lunch with two international lawyers from Spain who were passing through town. They talked a lot about their work in Angola and in Mozambique and we talked a lot about our work in China and the rest... [[ This is a content summary only...
Quality Control For Your China Products
Posted on November 09, 2009It has been awhile since we have written on China product quality issues. As regular readers of this blog know, we are of the view that companies outsourcing to China must focus on 1) choosing the right partner, 2) using a... [[ This is a content summary only...
Jason Patent Blog: China's Business Culture
Posted on November 08, 2009I recently became a regular reader of the Jason Patent blog. Patent is a PhD linguist with a ton of teaching and writing experience regarding Chinese culture. Patent now offers coaching and consulting services, mostly... [[ This is a content summary only...
Where To Locate Your China Business.
Posted on November 08, 2009A portion of a Silk Road International post got me to thinking of one of my favorite China topics: where should you locate your business. David Dayton's Silk Road post is of no help at all if you are looking for a one size... [[ This is a content summary only...
International Business Law Advisor
Posted on November 07, 2009Our blogroll is very intentionally limited to blogs on China or, at minimum, those with a decided China focus. If we were to open it beyond these confines, I have no idea what the new confines would be, our blogroll would... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's NPC Comes Out With Draft Legislation For Public Comment
Posted on November 07, 2009The PRC National People's Congress has been focusing on increasing public involvement in China's lawmaking process. One technique it has been using to achieve that has been to issue draft laws and provide the public with an... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Blogs: That's The way, Uh-Huh Uh-Huh, We Like It, Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh. Part III.
Posted on November 07, 2009About two months ago, in Part I of this series, I promised we would go through our blogroll and justify and expound upon each blog, five by five. About a month ago, I did part II of this series. This is the third of this... [[ This is a content summary only...
China U.S. Dispute Over Raw Materials. Rare Earths Are Key.
Posted on November 06, 2009The U.S. has formally requested the WTO establish a dispute resolution panel concerning China's recent decisions to restrict exports of certain key raw materials. This follows on the initial request for review made by the... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's Changing Worldview Is Bad For Your Business
Posted on November 06, 2009In a recent article, entitled China's GDP growth likely to reach double digits again, Xinhua repeats another of the endless reports we here in China are constantly seeing projecting double digit growth for the Chinese... [[ This is a content summary only...
How To Network In China. Tis Better To Give Face Than To Take It Away.
Posted on November 05, 2009I usually find these things way corny and stereotypical, but I actually kinda like this one. Shanghai Networking News has an article out, based on its having asked questions on Linkedin, on "What The Chinese Want You to Know... [[ This is a content summary only...
Geely, China's Two Markets And Brushing Off EVERY Criticism Of Chinese Companies
Posted on November 05, 2009I apologize for the recent onslaught of posts on China's consumer market, but I cannot help it. There has just been a plethora (I know that's a pompous word, but I've always loved it anyway) of great stuff out there of late.... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Joint Ventures Again. This Time We Blame The Victims.
Posted on November 04, 2009By Steve Dickinson Dan did a recent interview on joint ventures in China with Amcham and a couple of follow up posts, entitled, "Love The One You're With. When China Joint Ventures Make Sense," and "The China Joint Venture.... [[ This is a content summary only...
Ad Age's 20 China Blogs For Marketers. Oh, And Everyone Else Too.
Posted on November 04, 2009Advertising Age Magazine just came out with its list of "20 Blogs Marketers to China Should Be Reading " and I like it. I like it not just because it lists China Law Blog (though I will admit I have trouble seeing past... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's VanceInfo "Done Good" And We Are Honored To Have Helped.
Posted on November 04, 2009One of the things we lawyers have to live with is secrecy. Put simply, if we reveal client confidences we can lose our licenses. This necessarily leads us to be über careful. I have been uber careful about not mentioning a... [[ This is a content summary only...
First Let's Kill All The Non-China Lawyers.
Posted on November 03, 2009When I started this blog, I swore I would never do a post apologizing for not posting nor would I ever do a post making any sort of excuse for not posting. We are all busy and I hate excuses and unless one thinks this post... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Retail/I Heart Qingdao
Posted on November 03, 2009I am fascinated with China as a consumer market. It has 1.3 billion people and if one reaches just one percent of the market..... Joel Backaler over at China Observer blog just came out with a post assessing McKinsey's... [[ This is a content summary only...
China And Its Many Rules
Posted on November 01, 2009One of the misconceptions I am always fighting about China is that it has no laws. Even people who should know better are oftentimes guilty of just assuming there is nothing on the books to cover a particular business law... [[ This is a content summary only...
Chocolate Fortunes. China's Consumer Market Writ Large And It AIn't Easy....
Posted on October 31, 2009Just finished the book, Chocolate Fortunes, by Lawrence L. Allen. It's a very good book. The book is about the competition between Hershey's, Mars, Ferraro Rocher, Nestle and Cadbury for the Chinese consumer. But it is... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Joint Ventures. Again.
Posted on October 29, 2009The Transcript from my AmCham interview on China joint ventures is now online here. I am working on a post on how companies can best protect themselves if they do go forward with a joint venture in China, but in the... [[ This is a content summary only...
China. The Hope And The Opportunity.
Posted on October 27, 2009All Roads Lead to China just came out with a fascinating, but way too short, post on a few interviews of Shanghai's underclass. It is called, "It's All About Hope and Opportunity in China" and I urge everyone to read it. All... [[ This is a content summary only...
Love The One You're With. When China Joint Ventures Make Sense.
Posted on October 26, 2009This is the follow-up post I promised to my last post on joint ventures, "The China Joint Venture. It's BACK!!!" I promised a follow up post because the first one received so many comments and a few of them raised issues I... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Trademark Law. It's All Good.
Posted on October 24, 2009The World Trademark Review, in its article, "Research reveals increased US confidence in China?s rights enforcement regime," [subscription required for full article] just came out with a story on a recent US-China Business... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Law Blog Is Miami Bound.
Posted on October 23, 2009Well not the blog itself, I guess, but me. I am heading to Jacksonville, FL, on October 27 to meet with a client and then the next day heading to Miami to speak at the American Bar Association's (ABA) International Law... [[ This is a content summary only...
The China Joint Venture. It's BACK!!!
Posted on October 20, 2009AmCham China just posted an interview here of me regarding the return of joint ventures to China. Josh Gartner conducted the interview and he did a great job. Though joint ventures obviously never left China, there has... [[ This is a content summary only...
The Tangled China Immigration Web Some Weave
Posted on October 17, 2009A reader sent me a link to a post from the very controversial blog, Atlas Shrugged. The post is entitled, "A Case of Perjury: Mohamed Bary's Vast Web of Lies." The gist of the story is that the Sri Lankan parents of a 17... [[ This is a content summary only...
Piracy In China. T'Ain't No Big Thing.
Posted on October 16, 2009Businesses are secretive. Some more so than others. My firm has a long history of representing companies in the international fishing business. Fishing companies are almost laughably secretive. I say laughably, because they... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Criminal And Business Law. You Are Not In Kansas Any More.
Posted on October 14, 2009Just finished an interview with a reporter doing a story on Chinese drywall. I gave my usual speech on how there are three main aspects to protecting oneself from bad Chinese product: good relationships, good contracts, and... [[ This is a content summary only...
Dual Language China Contracts Double Your Chance Of Disaster.
Posted on October 12, 2009Got an interesting email the other day regarding the language to use on a contract. It went as follows: I was talking to someone who was bragging about how great their employment contract was yesterday, and he said "My... [[ This is a content summary only...
Setting Up Your China WFOE's Branch Office.
Posted on October 11, 2009My firm is constantly getting asked about what it takes to set up a branch office in another city in China. In other words, you already have your WFOE in place in, let's say, Shanghai, and you decide you want to open another... [[ This is a content summary only...
Your Chinese-American VP Don't Know Diddley 'Bout China Law And I Have Friggin Had It.
Posted on October 06, 2009Before my law firm hires anyone, we make sure they do not have a problem with swearing. Because I do. I know I shouldn't, but darn, certain swear words are absolutely critical for communication. But when I started this blog,... [[ This is a content summary only...
Chinese Drywall Cases Make U.S. Lawyers Angry. I Want My Lex Americana!
Posted on October 04, 2009I want my MTV. I will be speaking at a Chinese drywall seminar in New Orleans next month and that means I am on an email list that I think consists of others who will also be speaking at this seminar. Seeing as how this... [[ This is a content summary only...
Chongqing, China. Ka-ching?
Posted on September 30, 2009Got an email the other day on Chongqing that went as follows: Long-time reader _________from Chongqing here. Hope all has been well with you. First, I'm not sure how this could work into a post, or whether it is simply of... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Blogs: That's The way, Uh-Huh Uh-Huh, We Like It, Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh. Part II.
Posted on September 27, 2009About a month ago, in Part I of this series, I promised we would go through our blogroll and justify and expound upon each blog, five by five. This is the second in that series. As I mentioned in that last blog post, we pick... [[ This is a content summary only...
China History 101. 1949-2009.
Posted on September 27, 2009FT.com has a very nicely put together, very informative timeline/article mapping out the key points in China's history. It is entitled, "People?s Republic of China at 60" and its pitch is that it allows you to "follow the... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Company Formation: Meet The New Hong Kong. Same As The Old Hong Kong.
Posted on September 23, 2009Won't Get Fooled Again. My roommate my senior year in college was a Who fanatic. And when I say fanatic, I mean fanatic. This guy had lived a few years in London and he had the urban trench coat and the British accent down... [[ This is a content summary only...
Understanding China FCPA Risks. Who Is A Foreign Official?
Posted on September 22, 2009I am becoming obsessed with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) because I see it as one of the the "most missed" things for United States companies doing business in or with China. The other day, I was interviewed by a... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Marketing And Branding. Reading The Tea Leaves.
Posted on September 20, 2009The DragonBeat blog has a great post, entitled, "Why foreigners are beating China?s tea-makers on their home turf." The post is on why China has none of the leading tea brands worldwide, but what it says pretty much applies... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Law Journals In English
Posted on September 20, 2009Chinese Law Prof Blog recently did a post on Chinese law journals in English. His list consists of the following journals currently in publication: Frontiers of Law in China. Peking University Journal of Legal Studies. No... [[ This is a content summary only...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About China's Education System.
Posted on September 16, 2009Teachingtips.com did an article entitled, "25 Surprising Facts About China?s Education System." (h/t to China Economics Blog) And though I am not prepared to say all 25 will surprise you, certainly most of them are at least... [[ This is a content summary only...
The FCPA And China. Do I Need To Get All Loud On You?
Posted on September 15, 2009I spent my high school junior year living in Istanbul, where my father was teaching while on sabbatical. There was one other American family in our Bebek apartment building: the Richards. Adelle Richards was the matriarch of... [[ This is a content summary only...
"Socialized" Medicine In China And The US. What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Posted on September 14, 2009Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics.From the movie, The Graduate. "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our... [[ This is a content summary only...
Topless Women, Rule Of Law, And Perceptions Of China.
Posted on September 13, 2009Matt Schivenza's always interesting blog has a new post up on nudity (well, sorta) in China, entitled, "Foreign Woman Removes Top At Beach in Qingdao, Causes Major Disturbance." The post tracks exactly what I was talking... [[ This is a content summary only...
Love In China. Actions Speak Instead Of Words.
Posted on September 12, 2009I just love this post, "Saying ?I love you? with a toilet: of indirect displays of love in Chinese families," over at the Speaking of China blog. I love it because it perfectly illustrates how Chinese express an emotion (in... [[ This is a content summary only...
Protecting Your IP In China -- The Basics.
Posted on September 10, 2009Stan Abrams over at China Hearsay is (or will be?) speaking on China intellectual property at an IP conference for SMEs in the Netherlands and he has mapped out on his blog what he is going to say. And here it is: 1.... [[ This is a content summary only...
How China's Birthday And Shanghai's Expo Are Good For The Legal Business.
Posted on September 09, 2009I have to admit one of my favorite things is forming a China WFOE for foreign companies. I love them because co-blogger Steve Dickinson and our Chinese affiliated lawyers do all the work. I also love them because it is the... [[ This is a content summary only...
Our First China Hummer Post. Our Silence Said It All.
Posted on September 09, 2009Virtually every week, somebody emails or calls me with the perfect (usually distressed) United States company for me to pitch to "all the people" I know in China. I have even gotten calls from government agencies asking me... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Sex, Mistresses, And Improper Payments, And What They Mean For Your China Business Litigation. Part II, The Contracts Do Matter Edition.
Posted on September 08, 2009Yesterday, I wrote a post on how important contracts are in China. The post was about a China Daily article on what has been described as China's first foreign nail house. The China Daily article included an interview with... [[ This is a content summary only...
Will Obama Soon Be Kicking China Tires?
Posted on September 08, 2009President Obama faces a September 17th deadline to determine whether to go along with the International Trade Commission?s recommendation to impose high tariffs on low end Chinese tires. The US has the authority to impose... [[ This is a content summary only...
The End Of The Recession? The View From Qingdao.
Posted on September 07, 2009Just received this email from co-blogger Steve Dickinson: I do my martial arts workout three mornings a week at the beach here in Qingdao. We have a great view of the entrance to the Qingdao port complex. Vessels intending... [[ This is a content summary only...
China's First Foreign Nail House. Dude, Where's Your Contract?
Posted on September 07, 2009Lara Farrar and Xie Yu wrote an excellent article for the China Daily and AsiaOne on the recent controversy swirling around what is being called China's first foreign nail house case. The article is entitled, "1st foreigner... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Has 703 Million Cell Phone Users. The Middle Class Is Rising.
Posted on September 05, 2009703 million. (h/t Shanghaiist) Think about that for just a minute. That's about 2.5 times the population of the United States. More than three years ago (gosh, have we really been here that long??!!) I did a post on how... [[ This is a content summary only...
On The Demise Of China Manufacturing.....Kidding!
Posted on September 03, 2009BBC radio news did an interview last night with the owner of a company out of Houston, Texas, who had moved his manufacturing from China back to the United States. Unfortunately, I tuned in way too late to hear the whole... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Law On Term Employment Contracts.
Posted on September 03, 2009One of our clients is coming to the end of its contract term with the bulk of its China employees. They wrote Steve asking him some questions regarding fixed term employment contracts under Chinese law. Steve's reply is a... [[ This is a content summary only...
Why Suing Chinese Companies In The US Is Usually A Waste Of Time.
Posted on September 02, 2009Ft.com has a fascinating and extremely sad story, entitled, "An accident shows how China treats consumers." (h/t This is China!) It's a great article, but the title is all wrong, at least if you are a lawyer. The title... [[ This is a content summary only...
China And Doing It By Heart. One Day You Are In And The Next Day You Are Out.
Posted on August 31, 2009Just read a great post over at Seth Godin's blog. The fact it was a great post is not the least bit unusual for that blog, but that I can relate it to legal work in China (well sorta, anyway) is. The post is entitled "The... [[ This is a content summary only...
China Honey, You Are An Adulterer. Can You Stand By YOUR Labels?
Posted on August 29, 2009A couple of Chinese "executives" were recently found guilty in Seattle Federal Court of having imported and distributed adulterated (well it at least sounds like adulterer) and mislabeled honey into the United States. The honey contained "ciproflaxin, an antibiotic that is used to fight bacterial infections but in rare cases can cause tendon damage and is barred from the food supply...
Manufacturing In China. Because There Are 1.3 Billion People There.
Posted on August 26, 2009I expected the routine this morning from a Wall Street Journal article entitled "LG Display Plans Plant in China." I expected it would say that LG was going to be manufacturing in China either to save costs or, more likely, to diversify its manufacturing...
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in China. September 3, 2009, Teleconference.
Posted on August 25, 2009Stafford Publications is putting on a teleconference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in China. Before I talk about that though, there is one thing I have to get out of the way. Every time I see a very British name like Stafford, I cannot help but smile and remember a hometown friend of mine who named his business "Tafford...
China: Where East Eats West.
Posted on August 25, 2009Whirlwind China entrepreneur and friend Sam Goodman has a great and blissfully short book out on how to do business in China. I say blissfully short not because I did not like his book (because I did), but because its shortness is one of its strengths...
China's Big Political Picture Writ Small For Business.
Posted on August 23, 2009I am not generally a fan of extrapolating the way a country conducts its politics to the way its enterprises conduct its businesses even in China where so many businesses are government owned. I am not saying it cannot be done, but I generally find it too complicated for too little value...
China's Border Disputes And Use Of Force. A Serious Analysis.
Posted on August 23, 2009The Sun Bin blog has a fascinating and thoughtful post analyzing how China handles border disputes and when it uses its military. The post, entitled "China's Policy in Border Disputes," mostly consists of an interview with Professor M. Taylor Fravel of MIT, whose academic focus has been on Chinese territorial disputes and its use of force...
China Food Safety. Don't Blame Legal.
Posted on August 22, 2009Thought provoking post over at TwoFish's Blog, entitled, "Best and the worst ? The Sanlu Settlement." The thesis is that China's handling of payments to those injured by the Sanlu dairy food poisonings was handled better than would have been the case had Sanlu been in the United States and been subject to a class action suit...
China: No Brands No Cry. What Does Peoria Say?
Posted on August 22, 2009Since my using references to Bob Marley songs seems to play so well (see here and here)..... Anyway, just read an excellent and blunt blog post on Chinese brands over at the perpetually insightful Silicon Hutong Blog, entitled, "Brand Reality Check." The post uses a Tom Doctoroff article in AdAge (subscription required) as the starting point for arguing China will "not be producing a bevy of global brands at any time in the near future...
The King Of Diplomacy On China-US Relations.
Posted on August 19, 2009I have always loved the television commercials where some cheesy guy wearing a crown (presumably the owner of the appliance store or whatever else it is that is being advertised) screams out the discounts you can expect to get by shopping at his store...
China's Rio Tinto Arrests. A Rapid Fire Historical Perspective.
Posted on August 19, 2009Sometimes big events can be so complicated, controversial and unwieldy, there is hardly any point in reading current reports because they are likely to be so biased and/or inaccurate as to be of no value. In those instances, particularly when the underlying topic is not of huge interest to me, I generally pretty much stop reading articles on it and just wait for the dust to settle...
Hiring In China. The Seminar. September 24, 2009. Seattle.
Posted on August 19, 2009On September 24, 2009, I will be speaking on China labor law issues at Seminar International's Hiring in Asia Seminar in Seattle. I will be sharing the podium with Dave Parker, CEO of 9spaces, a leading China-focused human resources research and services company...
China's Food Chain. Nobody Trusts Nobody.
Posted on August 17, 2009The Eileen Eats blog did an excellent, though very disquieting, post on the state of Chinese food. The post is entitled, "Food Safety? Can?t let your guard down," and it has the following money quote: Hung Huang, chief executive of the China Interactive Media Group in China, said recently in an article in the New York Times that China as a nation of food lovers is going on a diet...
A Western Woman In China....Sex, Sex, Sex????!!!!
Posted on August 17, 2009Not me, of course. But Gina in Shanghai, who on her blog, Gina in Shanghai, has written a very thought provoking piece, entitled, "Peter Hessler and laowai nuzi," on how Western women are viewed in China (h/t China Beat). To grossly summarize, Chinese view Western women to be like the women in "Sex in the City...
Representative Offices In China. Things Just Got More Difficult/Expensive.....
Posted on August 17, 2009My wildly unscientific observations tell me that about nine out of ten companies that go into China legally end up succeeding. My wildly unscientific observations also tell me that about eight out of ten companies that go into China illegally end up failing within a couple of years...
Business Taxes In China. Feels Just Like Home.
Posted on August 17, 2009Ernst & Young is out with a very informative online publication on indirect taxes in China (h/t All Roads). The publication is entitled, "Navigating Chinese Indirect Taxes," and it provides a great overview of these taxes and how they can, and almost certainly will, impact your China business...
An "American" Law School In China. Explanations Sought.
Posted on August 16, 2009My tiny firm must receive at least ten resumes every day. About a third of these come from students who, even in the best of of times, would likely never be hired as a law firm associate. Go ahead and get mad at me if you want, but those who are in the bottom half of the class from fourth tier ranked or unaccredited law schools are just not going to get hired by a...
China Retail As Piracy Prevention.
Posted on August 14, 2009One of the things I love about being a lawyer is what I learn from clients. I recently started working with a company that makes a high end consumer good. In the US, this company sells its products to high end retail outlets, including department stores...
Got A China Criminal Matter. I'll Get Barack....
Posted on August 14, 2009One of the interesting things about the exposure that comes from this blog is that my firm gets contacted by all sorts of people with China law problems. This is mostly good because it can lead to real work. This is also good because even when it does not lead to real work, it provides great blog fodder...
China's Labor Laws. Find Me That Company.
Posted on August 13, 2009Spoke with a reporter last week regarding China's labor laws. The conversation went sorta like this: Reporter: I want your views on how enforcement of China's labor laws is holding up despite the economic downturn. I am also wondering how representative are the stories we've all heard of one bad-egg employee winning a huge lawsuit against a foreign company that is basically in full compliance with the labor laws, with every other employee running to...
China Guest Blogger Sought. Must Read AND Understand WTO Rulings.
Posted on August 13, 2009Got an email today from a leading finance magazine asking me whether the World Trade Organization's (WTO) ruling today "against" China meant "piracy is now dead in China." I told him I would review it, figure out the answer to his question, then call him...
The WTO's China Video/Media Ruling. Shedding Some Light....
Posted on August 13, 2009Yesterday, I wrote how it was too early to proclaim repurcussions from the WTO ruling on foreign media in China. It is still too early and I still know too little, but I have seen a few things which shed a bit of light. The first is Businesweek's Eye on Asia post on the ruling, entitled, "Hollywood's Small WTO Victory Over China," in which Bruce Eichorn questions whether the ruling is as big a deal...
Cross Cultural Dating -- China Style.
Posted on August 13, 2009I normally hate this sort of thing, but "Steve" over at Fool's Mountain does such a great job with it, I cannot resist posting on it. The post is entitled, "Cross Cultural Dating," but I think it goes way beyond that and that is my point. The post does a great job explaining the need to be sensitive to other cultures and the advice given definitely translates to the business world and even to dealing...
China's Migrant Workers. The Revolution Will Have To Wait.
Posted on August 13, 2009Robert D. O'Brien (have I linked to the right person?) over at China Beat has a great post up on the impact China's manufacturing downturn is having and will have on China's big picture. The post is entitled, "China?s Migrant Workers in the Wake of the Economic Crisis: Unemployed, Undeterred," and it basically concludes that the macro impacts on China will be micro...
China's Rio Tinto Case. Everyone Move Along....
Posted on August 12, 2009Okay, so the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do think the Rio Tinto case is being blown out of proportion, at least somewhat. From my perspective (which is based on ZERO inside information and absolutely no idea whether anyone is guilty of anything or not), this matter has always been a lot more about what the Chinese government is trying to say to its own populace than what it is trying...
Six More Keys To Quality Product Made In China.
Posted on August 12, 2009The other day, I did a post entitled, "The Six (Not Five) Keys To China Quality." In response to that post, Rich Brubaker, over at the All Roads Lead to China blog left a long and very thoughtful comment adding six additional things that should be done to better ensure quality Chinese manufacturing...
Easy Jobs For Foreigners In China. Everyone I Know Begs To Differ.
Posted on August 12, 2009New York Times article, entitled, "American Graduates Finding Jobs in China," makes it seem that all a young American needs to do to get a job in China is to show up. Wow! When I read that article, it did not seem to jibe with what I was seeing out there, but from my perch at a tiny law firm, I figured I just was not seeing enough...
The Six (Not Five) Keys To China Quality
Posted on August 11, 2009A client sent me an article the other day to ask me if it was accurate. I replied that it was, but that it left out one important element. The article is entitled, "5 Keys to Quality when Working with Chinese Suppliers." and it sets forth the following as the five keys: 1...
Made In America. Not China.
Posted on August 11, 2009Fascinating collection of articles over at Forbes Magazine on American manufacturing and how it does and should compete with China. The introduction gives a good description of the themes the articles. Made in America meant something very different 30 years ago...
China Blogs: That's The way, Uh-Huh Uh-Huh, We Like It, Uh-Huh, Uh-Huh.
Posted on August 10, 2009I often receive email complaints from bloggers whose blogs are not on our blogroll. Increasingly, they favorably compare themselves to blogs on our roll, along with sometimes veiled or not so veiled complaints about those blogs. Though China Law Blog has been in existence for more than three years, we have never really provided an explanation for our blogroll, so here goes...
Forum Selection Clauses. Do NOT Try These At Home
Posted on August 10, 2009I just got an email from a small tech company in China asking me whether its contract should call for Chinese or Russian law. My response was pretty much that I had no idea because it would depend on what was in the contract and what was most important...
China's Ten Most Beautiful Churches
Posted on August 09, 2009I am into architecture. I love buildings and my impression of places oftentimes stems from the buildings. If buildings can speak to a people and to a history (and I am convinced that they do), religious buildings oftentimes speak the loudest. They can tell us who was up, who was down, and when...
Doing Business With China? Don't Look To The UCC
Posted on August 09, 2009United States domestic business lawyers live and breathe the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Let's turn to Wikipedia for an explanation of how the UCC came into being and why it is so important: The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC or the Code), first published in 1952, is one of a number of uniform acts that have been promulgated in conjunction with efforts to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states...
When The Chinese Government Talks You Should Listen.
Posted on August 08, 2009One of the misconceptions foreign businesses often have about China is that their providing China with a few hundred jobs means they wield real influence. They start to believe that because some local government official has been solicitous, that they are somehow protected from all the bad things they read about that happens to other foreign companies in China...
China's Business Laws. Ignore Them At Your Peril.
Posted on August 08, 2009Very interesting and very thoughtful post up over at Think China, entitled, "Are rules meant to be broken?" The theme of the post is that one needs to learn to "tiptoe through the gray areas of China law." I disagree. Think China has this to say: There are many rules and regulations in China that are ignored systematically...
Chinese Prostitutes And Government Officials, And Why You Should Listen To The People.
Posted on August 08, 2009A recent survey of more than 3,000 Chinese found that less than 7.9% of them trust their government officials. The media have been reporting on how 7.9% trust prostitutes, which are more trusted than the government. As one would expect, this survey has received considerable blog play: -- Chinese Trust Prostitutes More Than Party Cadres --Chinese Trust Prostitutes More Than Government Officials --Chinese Trust Prostitutes More Than Politicians (The Huffington Post) --Chinese Trust Prostitutes Over...
Law Firms Getting Scammed And What It Has To Do With China.
Posted on August 08, 2009If you are a lawyer, you have probably gotten one: an email from a company (usually in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan) saying they want to retain you to help them collect on debts owed to them by American companies. WATCH OUT. It is almost certainly a scam...
China's Mafia.... Whaddya know?
Posted on August 06, 2009I have often wondered about the mafia in China. I have asked lawyer friends about it and I usually get pretty much the same answer: "The Communist Party destroyed it and has continued to keep it at bay. It can have no rival. That's in Hong Kong and Macao, not here...
How To Succeed With Your China Business. Well....Sorta.
Posted on August 04, 2009Cn Reviews does a nice job covering an interesting discussion on doing technology business in China. Though the discussion seemed to focus on the tech industry, what was said pretty much applies to all businesses. I will note what was said (in bold) and then comment...
Wanna Be A China Lawyer? Creeps Need Not Apply.
Posted on August 04, 2009And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you Signs, by the Five Man Electrical Band At least three times a week, I get emails from earnest...
U.S. - China Relations. Normalization, Not Democratization.
Posted on August 03, 2009I wrote this post back in September, 2008, but forgot to put it up. I rediscovered it today and though it is definitely dated (it was written by Kissinger with an eye towards the US Presidential elections) the core of it still very much holds true and still merits a post, I think...
China Patents Work And I Have The Proof.
Posted on August 02, 2009Axiom: Chinese businesses do not waste money. Axiom: Filing patents in China is expensive. Axiom: Chinese businesses are filing patents in China like crazy. Conclusion: Filing patents must be worth the money; in other words, they have value. According to Intellectual Asset Management Blog (h/t IP Dragon), "for the first time invention patent grants made to domestic [Chinese] entities are outstripping those made to foreign concerns...
China And The Swine Flu. When Pigs Fly.
Posted on August 02, 2009If you are not reading Absurdity, Allegory and China, you should be. It just did an excellent post, entitled, "One Flu East," on what could happen to you if you come to China with an elevated temperature or even if you just come in on a plane near someone with an elevated temperature...
How To Get Your Business Into China. Legally.
Posted on August 01, 2009Spoke with a company last week that is interested in hiring people in China to oversee its China purchasing and quality control and stake a beachhold for selling its products there as well. This company asked me to set out the basics on what my firm would propose to do for them to get them going in China...
China Socialpreneurs
Posted on August 01, 2009Crossroads blog has a post up listing China Corporate Social Responsibility related twitterers, broken out between "China Social Entrepreneurs," "China Treehuggers," and "NGOs." If you twitter and have an interest in China CSR, I urge you to check it out...
The China Company Within A Company. Been There. Done That.
Posted on July 31, 2009FT.com wrote an interesting story the other day of a German advertising company whose employees had set up their own company within a company. The thrust of the article is that this sort of thing is peculiar to China and foreigners had better beware. I have received no fewer than three emails from people sending me the article suggesting I should write on it...
How To Avoid Getting Kidnapped In China. Plan In Advance Or Go Home.
Posted on July 28, 2009The other day, in a post entitled, "China Hostage Situation. Now IS A Good Time To Pay Your Debts," I wrote about some U.S. executives who were being held hostage in China over nonpayment of a business debt. Their US based company had gone bankrupt and when they went over to China to explain all this to their Chinese suppliers, they were taken hostage...
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Can You Say China Relevant?
Posted on July 26, 2009I was talking with Kevin O'Keefe the other day about law blogs. Kevin is the founder of LexBlog, which dominates the market for setting law firms up on blogs. Despite originally being from Wisconsin (he now lives in Seattle), Kevin knows more about law blogging than any guy alive...
Suing Chinese Drywall Manufacturers. Why All The Bother?
Posted on July 24, 2009Someone just emailed me an article on Chinese Drywall, with the question, "why do you think these lawyers are spending so much to serve the Chinese defendants." My short answer is that I have no clue. I will backtrack a bit first. The article is entitled, "Chinese-Made Drywall: A Multi-Defendant, Multi-Claim, Multi-District Litigation Has Litigators Multi-Tasking," and it is more a pitch for a bunch of money making seminars than an article designed to impart...
China Hostage Situation. Now IS A Good Time To Pay Your Debts.
Posted on July 22, 2009Just got an email from a regular and very much trusted reader. The email (with all identifiers removed) is as follows: Consumer product company had a rep office ? staffed with 2 people with US passports. Company had financial problems and needed to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
What's Happening With China Legal? Read Asia Legal Blog To Find Out.
Posted on July 21, 2009When I worked in BigLaw, I, along with most of the other associates at my mega-firm, could hardly wait for the next issue of American Lawyer Magazine to hit our law firm's library. That magazine did a pretty decent job keeping us informed of what was going on in the legal world, and even within our own firm...
China Joint Ventures. Find Me A Good One....
Posted on July 16, 2009Excellent article by Tina Wang up on Forbes.com. The article is entitled "KKR's Concrete Lessons In China" and it is subtitled, "A KKR-led group bought into a Chinese tycoon's cement business. Over a year later, who's in charge?" It is on a KKR cement industry joint venture in China and like so many stories on joint ventures (not just in China but just about everywhere), it reads like a bad spy/war novel...
China's Rio Tinto Arrests. Everyone Just Move Along....
Posted on July 14, 2009By Steve Dickinson The recent detentions of four Rio Tinto executives has caused much concern. However, the situation has been misunderstood by most in the West because of a failure to understand the legal background. The Rio Tinto employees are accused of conducting industrial espionage...
Enforcing Contracts In China. Way, Way Better Than You Think.
Posted on July 13, 2009By Steve Dickinson At a recent meeting of foreign businesspersons in Qingdao, I sat next to a very unhappy man who loudly stated: ?Chinese contracts are not worth the paper they are written on.? I told him: ?Your statement is not true. As a matter of fact, the Chinese courts do very well at enforcing clear written contracts...
Owe Money To A Chinese Company? No Need To Pay.
Posted on July 10, 2009If you owe money to a Chinese company for product and you cannot pay all of your creditors, skip out on the Chinese company. Near as I can tell, there is nearly a 100% chance they will never sue you to recover. I am NOT advocating not paying your debt, but I am saying that if you have to choose among your creditors on who to pay, the Chinese company should be your choice...
Hey Sucker, We've Got Your China Trademark And Your're Goin' Down.
Posted on July 08, 2009Over the last six months or so, my firm's work for Chinese companies going international has zoomed, and with that, my knowledge of how Chinese companies "handle" foreign companies has zoomed as well. One of the things I have learned is that Chinese companies understand the value of trademarks -- YOUR trademark...
Exporting To China 101
Posted on July 08, 2009A client recently sent me a blogpost and asked me if I "thought it made sense." The post is entitled "Organizing Your Export Trial Run," and, yes I do. Not only does it make sense, but it also has a slew of very helpful links. So if you are in the business of exporting to China (or to anywhere else), you should check it out...
Sex! Drugs! Prostitution! China And The US By The Numbers.
Posted on July 07, 2009The Aimee Barnes Blog just did a post, entitled, "Sex, Drugs, Weapons and Cash: China vs United States," comparing the United States and China on all sorts of numbers/statistics relating mostly to sex, drugs, crime and health. It makes for fascinating reading, particularly, if (like me) you are the kind of person who remembers off the top of your head, exactly what Bob Gibson's E...
Cultural Norms As Law Enforcement Mechanism. Why Demand Letters Still Work In China.
Posted on July 07, 2009Wikipedia defines a demand letter as a "letter stating a legal claim (usually drafted by a lawyer) which makes a demand for restitution or performance of some obligation, owing to the recipients' alleged breach of contract, or for a legal wrong." Typically, these letters conclude with the lawyer threatening to sue or the non-lawyer letter writer threatening to go his or her attorney...
The China Liability Wall. What I Meant To Say....
Posted on July 06, 2009An East Coast lawyer contacted me the other day seeking help for his client in writing an outsourcing contract with its Chinese manufacturer. We talked for maybe 10 minutes regarding these contracts and then he told me he had called me because of what I had to say about always requiring the Chinese manufacturer to agree to buy product liability insurance...
China OEM Agreements. Why Ours Are In Chinese. Flat Out.
Posted on July 05, 2009Had a nice conversation with a potential client last week. Company has a great new product it wants made in China. Like many companies starting out in China, this one is in the process of shopping for its China lawyers and my firm was one of four suggested to it by its regular corporate counsel...
China's Internet Censoring. Hate To Say I Told You So, But I Told You So....
Posted on June 30, 2009Back when the media was getting all hot and heavy (sexual reference intended) on China's plans to require internet filtering software, I did a post, entitled, "Two China Things Of Which We Dare Not Speak (And Sex Is Not One of Them)." In that post, I explained why we virtually never write about proposed laws and why I had not written anything on the filtering software...
China's Labor Law. The Bark Is The Bite.
Posted on June 28, 2009Got a call last week from the HR officer of a US company. She was looking for my firm to assist her on a labor law issue. The US company's China WFOE had laid off a female employee who had come back saying she was entitled to ten months pregnancy pay...
China's Anti-Monopoly Law. One Year On.
Posted on June 24, 2009I actually began my legal career as an antitrust lawyer and I though there has so far been no call for it on our China matters, I have very much tried to keep up with China's slowly developing antitrust laws. So I was delighted to sit down (metaphorically speaking) with Josh Gartner Managing Editor of Publications for AmCham China for an interview on recent developments in China's anti-monopoly law...
Registering Your Trademark In The US And China On The Cheap.
Posted on June 23, 2009Many years ago, a very good client of mine (in a China related business) called me in a panic. The client had gone to its regular US corporate counsel and asked about using a trade name on product it would be importing from China. Its corporate counsel said it saw no problems and my client went ahead and imported the product...
China. The News Is Nearly Always Mixed.
Posted on June 17, 2009For the last couple of weeks I have been working on an outsourcing contract for a US/China company seeking to take on a very large China outsourcing project for a rapidly (even now!) growing US retailer. Negotiations have been ongoing with countless revisions...
Defective Product Recalls In China. What's That?
Posted on June 16, 2009I have been practicing law long enough to have seen my share of product recall disasters. The most recent was a situation involving a food company client. Our client had contracted out with another company for the manufacturing of a particular processed food product...
Which Comes First, The China Trademark Or The China OEM Contract?
Posted on June 15, 2009I am paranoid about my clients registering their trademarks in China, pretty much before they do anything else. For a few examples of my feelings on this, check out, "China Trademarks -- Do You Feel Lucky? Do You?" "China Trademark Law: Simple And Effective" and "Trademark Protection In The Global (And China) Marketplace...
Promising China Blog: Eileen Eats
Posted on June 14, 2009Despite the global recession, I remain an unabashed foodie. I figure, if I am going to eat, I might as well eat well. I am sure Eileen Wen Mooney would agree with me on that. Ms. Mooney is the author of the books, Beijing Eats and Not Just a Good Food Guide: Beijing and the oft-cited Guardian article, "Top 10 Places to Eat in Beijing...
Western Companies Are Frittering Away China Employees. Or Not.
Posted on June 12, 2009Fascinating article by Paul French over at Access Asia on how Western companies are, at the exact worst time, cutting back on their employees in China. The article, "Are Foreign Brands in China About to Give It All Away??" says that many Western companies, run out of places like London and New York, are cutting back on their China operations so as to preserve cash and save money at home: By and large, in most...
Two China Things Of Which We Dare Not Speak (And Sex Is Not One of Them)
Posted on June 12, 2009I often get emails from readers asking me to write about a particular topic. There are two topics on which I frequently receive emails and on which I virtually never write. Proposed laws and China diplomatic meetings with foreign countries. Just about every time there is a rumor of a major new Chinese law, I get an email from someone asking me to write about it...
Form Contracts In China. You've Got To Fight The Powers That Be.....
Posted on June 09, 2009This is the second in a series of posts on Chinese contract law by co-blogger Steve Dickinson. The first post, "China Contract Law: Going All Clear On Us Now," discussed recently issued PRC Supreme Court explanations on various aspects of contract law...
Think You Have A Well Known China Trademark. Think Again.
Posted on June 08, 2009China's Supreme Court recently confirmed what my firm has always been telling its clients: if you want to protect your trademark in China, you absolutely must register it in China. We have always said that because the likelihood is so slim of being able to prove that a trademark is a well known mark and the cost of trying to do so is so much higher than actually filing, that unless you are as well...
Clinton, Obama, Saudi Arabia And China. Comments On The Comments.
Posted on June 07, 2009The other day, I did a quick post in a pique of anger at the US criticizing China's Human Rights record while Barack Obama was travelling in or to Saudia Arabia and Egypt. I found it absurd that we would be going after China for its HR issues at the same time we were (and have) pretty much completely ignored the far far worse records of Egypt and Saudi Arabia (and Syria, and Yemen and...
China Contract Law: Going All Clear On Us Now.
Posted on June 05, 2009By Steve Dickinson One role of China's Supreme Court is to provide guidance on the interpretation of statutes. These interpretations are directed at two fundamental issues. First, Chinese statutes tend to be short and general. Conflicting interpretations of such general wording is possible...
I'm Sorry, But US Hypocrisy On Human Rights Is Continuing Apace Under Obama. China Is Exhibit A.
Posted on June 04, 20091. I love my country -- the United States. 2. Of course I believe in human rights. 3. The US should strive to be a beacon on human rights. 4. When appropriate, and in ways that are appropriate, the US should encourage other countries to maintain human rights as well...
Foreign Real Estate Development In China. Long Term Leasing Can Be A Good Way To Go.
Posted on June 03, 2009China Economic Review recently published an article by CLB's own Steve Dickinson on foreign investors entering into long term leases of Chinese real estate. The article is entitled "Don't play for keeps," and since a paid subscription is required, we will provide the article Steve wrote before the professional editors gussied it all up...
China Contract Protections And It Ain't Just Scrap.
Posted on June 02, 2009Scrap is very much an international business and due to its potential for rapidly changing prices, it is ripe for non-payments and international litigation. Many months ago, I was interviewed by Scrap Magazine regarding Chinese companies failing to pay on their scrap contracts...
IT Outsourcing To China As Next Big Thing.
Posted on June 01, 2009KPMG recently came out with an excellent report on outsourcing to China (h/t to Experience Not Logic), entitled, "A new dawn: China?s emerging role in global outsourcing." KPMG summarizes its report as follows: Outsourcing is on the agenda of the Chinese government as they seek to boost foreign investment into China and support the development of the services sector...
China Sex, Mistresses, And Improper Payments, And What They Mean For Your China Business Litigation.
Posted on June 01, 2009Fascinating post up over at CNReviews, entitled, "Husband and wife sue mistress for 330,000 yuan in ?lover?s fees.? The gist of the case is that a married couple sued the husband's former mistress to require her to return 330,000 RMB the husband had given her during the course of the affair...
Breaking News: Blogger, David Dollar, Named Economic And Financial Emissary To China.
Posted on June 01, 2009David Dollar, who heads up the blog, East Asia & Pacific on the Rise (a/k/a David Dollar's Blog) and the World Bank's China Director, has just been named by Timothy Geithner as "economic and financial emissary to China." Dollar, who was formerly an Assistant Professor of Economics at UCLA and a Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, really knows whereof he speaks when it comes to economics and China...
Shanghai As World Financial Capital? Maybe Next Century.
Posted on May 31, 2009Just finished a fascinating article in Atlantic by Richard Florida, entitled, "How The Crash Will Reshape America." It makes some very interesting points as to why Phoenix and Las Vegas (and large swaths of Florida) may never recover and why New York, Austin, and Seattle (yeah), will do just fine...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Touring A China Factory.
Posted on May 29, 2009I know I should not admit this, but I find most factories pretty boring. It was not always this way. When I first started practicing law, I loved visiting factories, but the thrill is gone. Within about one minute of watching a basketball game, I have a good feel for the players and for the teams, but I could watch three hours of a soccer game and still not have a clue...
China Translated.
Posted on May 28, 2009When we first started this blog we would occasionally make fun of mainstream media's China coverage. I just realized we have not done that for years and I attribute that mostly to a huge increase in good reporting coming out of China. My firm is frequently interviewed by China reporters on China law issues and so we are able to judge up close and personal who among the media knows his or her stuff...
The Chinese Are Coming, Part IXX, And This Time They Are Serious About Minority Stakes.
Posted on May 27, 2009Caine: May I ask, master? When I leave the temple, what will be expected of me? Master Poe: To walk the roads of the land, and use what you have learned for the needs and benefit of the people. Cain: Will I always know when to act and when to stand off? Master Poe: That which you do not know, the doing will quickly teach you...
Pig Casings, Swine Flu, And Accounting For China Risk.
Posted on May 25, 2009My firm has always represented a number of fishing and other food companies. The reasons for this are that we are located in Seattle and food companies went international early. by about five years ago, almost all of our fishing clients were doing something in China...
China's Economy By The Numbers. Lots Of Them.
Posted on May 25, 2009The Beijing Axis business consultancy just came out with its quarterly "China Analyst" publication and it is chock full of nicely arranged economic statistics and predictions for China. If China economics is your thing, I recommend you check it out here...
China, We Have A Problem. A Mostly True Story.
Posted on May 23, 2009My firm recently wrapped up a fascinating matter (it is nearly always bad news when your lawyer tells you that you have an interesting or a fascinating case). Even though the matter is nearly over, I am going to have to gloss over certain facts and make up other ones so as not to leave any possible identifiers...
Guns In China. More, More, More....
Posted on May 23, 2009I love talking about guns with Asian lawyers because their views on them are so....so un-American. Let's face it people, most Americans love guns. (This week's passage of a law allowing guns in National Parks is further proof of this.) And we Americans have a history with guns and an attachment to guns that is probably unique...
China Auto. Are We There Yet?
Posted on May 22, 2009There are those who state confidently that China will own the worldwide car market within a few years (these people have been saying this for years -- check out this post from three years ago where I rightly said NO WAY) and there are those who state it will never get there...
China Visas. I'm Getting Deja Vu Olympic Feelings, Part IV. New Reports Of Visa Raids.
Posted on May 20, 2009Got an email this morning from someone I know in China, reporting the following: Police in Guangzhou are doing very aggressive passport checks to prevent what they call ?? [the three must prevents]?meaning ???? [illegal entry]????? [illegal housing]????? [illegal employment]...
When Not To (And When To) File Your China Trademark.
Posted on May 18, 2009Stan Abrams over at China Hearsay just did a great post entitled, When Not To File A Trademark (yes, you heard me). It is based on Duncan Bucknell's post, (Five reasons not to file a trademark). They both list the following five reasons not to bother registering a trademark: 1 - your business is only ever going to be confined to a subset of a country (and not extend to the whole country); 2 -...
Avoiding Chinese Jails. The Thai Bar Edition.
Posted on May 18, 2009A few weeks ago, I did a post emphasizing the need to follow China's laws so as to avoid jail time. My point (taken straight from Aimee Barnes) was that what actions that may be overlooked in your home country of Australia or the United States or some other Western country very well may be deemed to be criminal in China...
China IP Protection. "It's Getting Better All The Time...."
Posted on May 17, 2009I have a young relative who has for quite some time been "a challenge" for his parents. For years, whenever we would get together, we would all start out, charitably enough, by spending around thirty seconds talking about how "he's getting better." For the next ten to fifteen minutes we would then enumerate all the things he had done that made us all feel good he was not our child...
China Has Health Care Too
Posted on May 15, 2009A few months ago I was on a China panel at Northwestern's Kellogg Business School where, among other things, we were asked to list China's best opportunities. I stressed that because I am not a China business expert, I would have to answer the question based entirely on what I was seeing of my firm's clients and, based on that, I listed health care, technology, and food...
How To Take Advantage Of China's Stimulus. London, June 3, 2009.
Posted on May 13, 2009My friend Jeremy Gordon, over at China Business Blog, is going to be speaking at a London seminar on "what is happening in China and what businesses can expect." He is going to be part of three part series, the first of which is going to focus on how what UK companies should be doing in reaction to China's Stimulus Package: The Chinese government has announced a RMB 4 trillion stimulus package...
China: Good Business Gone Bad. You Want Pathos? I Can Do Pathos.
Posted on May 12, 2009So I just got an email from a friend criticizing me for being "relentlessly" upbeat during the "world downturn." He wrote this email after my post yesterday touting how China's stimulus has been a giant positive. He tells me that I am losing credibility by acting as though things are "great all over...
The Chinese Are Coming, Part XVIII. It's The Stimulus Stupid.
Posted on May 12, 2009?Who?s going to turn down a Junior Mint? It?s chocolate, it?s peppermint, it?s delicious. It?s very refreshing.? Cosmo Kramer, Seinfeld, episode #60 When I was in law school, I was rankled by students who complained about how busy they were. I mean, we were all taking pretty much the same courses...
China And The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Sometimes You Just Have To Step Away....
Posted on May 10, 2009You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when youre sittin at the table. There'll be time enough for countin when the dealins done. -- Kenny Rogers, The Gambler A couple weeks ago, a long time client of mine called me with a concern...
Everything You Need To Know About Sourcing From China. (Well Almost Everything)
Posted on May 08, 2009David Dayton over at the Silk Road International Blog has a great post on sourcing from China, entitled, "Smart Steps for Effective Sourcing in Tough Economic Times." It is an outline of a presentation he gives at Global Sources China Sourcing Shows. My biggest complaint is that David leaves his most important comment for last: "Get your lawyers involved early (just to be safe)...
Blawg Review #210
Posted on May 04, 2009Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth "Rip down all hate," I screamed Lies that life is black and white Spoke from my skull. I dreamed Romantic facts of musketeers Foundationed deep, somehow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Bob Dylan, from his song, My Back Pages, presumably in reference to my previous Blawg Review, Blawg Review #162 "Peace lies not in the world...
China Real Estate Stirring?
Posted on May 03, 2009For months and months and months and months, my law firm had not been involved in a single China commercial real estate deal. Not one. Sure, we assisted a foreigner or two in buying (or selling) a condo in which to live, but nothing at all on the investment front...
China Power Summit 2009. May 22-23, 2009 In Beijing.
Posted on May 01, 2009The China Power Summit is going to be in Beijing from May 22-23 this year and China Law Blog's own Steve Dickinson will be a featured speaker. Steve will be reprising (and updating) his speech on how foreign companies can best protect themselves when getting into Chinese joint ventures...
China Visas. I'm Getting Deja Vu Olympic Feelings, Part II, The Now I Know I Am Right Edition.
Posted on April 29, 2009Three days ago, I did a post entitled, "China Visas. I'm Getting Deja Vu Olympic Feelings," in which I talked about having heard from clients of difficulties in getting their China visas: One of the great things a about being a lawyer is that we hear all kinds of things from our clients and potential clients...
Avoiding Chinese Jails. I'm Talkin' To You.
Posted on April 28, 2009In her post, Hot Water in China? Don?t Get Burned: Part I, Aimee Barnes highlights how important it is for foreigners to follow the law in China. All of the laws. All of the time. No matter how much you may disagree with them, no matter how silly you may find them, and no matter how different they may be from those to which you are accustomed...
Foreign Direct Investment In China. The Times Have Changed. For Good.
Posted on April 27, 2009China Law Blog's Steve Dickinson recently did a China Economic Review column on China's efforts to move away from being an "export-led" economy. The column is entitled, "No Turning Back," [subscription required] and its thesis is that despite the economic downturn, China's overall macroeconomic plan is still moving forward...
Everything (And A Whole Lot More) You Wanted To Know About China Law Blog In 140 Characters.
Posted on April 26, 2009@22tweets interviewed me via twitter the other day and that interview is now online here. Because it was on twitter, I was limited to 140 character answers (actually it was even less than that as some of the 140 characters went towards the address and the hashtag)...
Can Someone Explain China Retail?
Posted on April 26, 2009I am being serious here. I just recently got back from a China trip with my eleven year old daughter. Like most 11 year old girls, she loves to shop for clothes and she really is quite knowledgeable about them. Though we went to other places as well, she did her clothes shopping in Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul, Korea...
China Visas. I'm Getting Deja Vu Olympic Feelings.
Posted on April 26, 2009One of the great things a about being a lawyer is that we hear all kinds of things from our clients and potential clients. And then when we start hearing those same things on the blogs, we know something is up. I am hearing a lot of things about the difficulty of getting anything but a three month visa...
Wanna Get Sued In China? Your Ex-Employees Can Help. Part II, The Corporate Counsel Edition.
Posted on April 25, 2009I should have waited a couple of days. The day before yesterday, I did a post on foreign employees getting sued in China by their ex-employees, entitled, "Wanna Get Sued In China? Your Ex-Employees Can Help." Today, Corporate Counsel Magazine came out with a related article, in which I am quoted...
Wanna Get Sued In China? Your Ex-Employees Can Help.
Posted on April 24, 2009China Daily (h/t to my friend Brian over at China Challenges) just came out with an article headlined, "Cases soar as workers seek redress." The article gives facts behind what many of us already knew: "the number of labor disputes heard by courts has skyrocketed this year...
On How To Handle The Accidental China Business
Posted on April 23, 2009Interesting post by Andrew Hupert over at China Solved, entitled, "Selling China to the Accidental Expats." The post is intended to instruct China consultants on how they should handle calls from American companies that have now decided they must take advantage of China's growing market...
Chinese Drywall Cases. Show Me The Money!
Posted on April 22, 2009The Wall Street Journal Law Blog did a post the other day touting Chinese drywall as the next big mass tort action in the United States. The post is entitled, "Does the New Product-Liability Boom Lie . . . Inside the Walls?" and to the extent it hints at a "yes" answer, it is likely going to be dead wrong...
Hutong Economics.....China Business?
Posted on April 21, 2009I am in the middle of a post on why the Chinese drywall cases are no big deal but I can't seem to get out of my head a very short post over at Letter From China. The post is entitled "Hutong Economics," and it very briefly (I know I earlier already described it as "very short") discusses the opening and closing of a tiny Beijing food stand, all within an eight week span...
Working With Chinese and Korean Lawyers. The Big Four Problems With Each.
Posted on April 19, 2009Last year, I wrote an article for the Complete Lawyer, entitled, "Working with Korean and Chinese Lawyers." I was originally asked to write on working with Asian lawyers, in general, but convinced the magazine to allow me to focus on just China and Korea...
Jackie Chan Is A Know-Nothing Self-Loathing Racist.
Posted on April 19, 2009The title sums up my initial reaction to the news of Jackie Chan dissing the Chinese people by essentially saying they are too messed up to ever be able to handle democracy. I was going to write a blog post criticizing Chan for his comments and noting how the same thing has been said about other countries that are now democracies (the United States, Japan, West Germany, Italy, Spain and South Korea immediately come to...
Working With Chinese and Korean Lawyers. The Big Four Issues With Each.
Posted on April 19, 2009Last year, I wrote an article for the Complete Lawyer, entitled, "Working with Korean and Chinese Lawyers." I was originally asked to write on working with Asian lawyers, in general, but convinced the magazine to allow me to focus on just China and Korea...
Ignore China's Low End Market At Your Peril. Oh, And Don't Forget The High End Either.
Posted on April 17, 2009The other day I did a post, entitled, "China Business. Which Comes First The Wealth Or The Low End?" on a discussion I had with Jack Perkowski regarding China's low end products market, how huge it is, and how foreign companies should not simply concede it to local companies...
What China's Credit Crunch Means For YOU.
Posted on April 14, 2009The Financial Times just did a story, entitled, Fears rise on China groups? payments on how private Chinese companies are being negatively impacted by the credit crunch (h/t to China Economics Blog). China's credit crunch is already having a large impact on American and European companies that do business with China and I see that impact only growing...
United States Job Creation, China Style.
Posted on April 13, 2009About a month ago, I wrote a post, entitled, "China. Friend Or Foe? Opportunity Or Challenge? Or, Why Can't We All Just Get Along?" The post was on an unnamed client of mine who had written me an email regarding a wind energy project in which he had helped an Ohio company secure necessary parts from China...
China: I'll Take You There.....Flowing Waters Never Stale.
Posted on April 12, 2009One of the best/worst things about this blog is that just about every book that comes out on China finds its way to my desk, gratis. Most sit on my credenza for a few weeks, and then get moved to my bookcase, where I look at them from afar. I'm planning to read all of them eventually, but, you know...
China Business. Which Comes First The Wealth Or The Low End?
Posted on April 11, 2009Had breakfast yesterday with Jack Perkowski, author of the book, Managing the Dragon, and the blog of the same name. Jack recently left as CEO of Asimco Technologies to start JFP Holdings, "a merchant bank for China." Jack has been doing business in China for a long time and he clearly knows whereof he speaks and I found his stories on China business fascinating and enlightening...
China's Labor Laws: The Cultural Disconnect Goes Both Ways.
Posted on April 05, 2009Last week, I attended co-blogger Steve Dickinson's lecture on China labor law. Steve's lecture was part of a truly superb Doing Business in China seminar put on by Global Nav. The thrust of Steve's speech was that labor laws in China have changed, they are being enforced against foreigners, and they are very different from U...
On The Importance Of "Face" In China Legal.
Posted on April 01, 2009China Daily did an article the other day on how China's courts are now going to post its unpaid judgments online. It is entitled, "Court launches website showing who hasn't paid." A bit of background is in order. China's court system (and I am talking about commercial disputes ONLY) is not as bad as is so widely believed in the West...
MY China Hearsay Post
Posted on March 29, 2009China Hearsay has a great post on private equity and investment bankers in China. The post is entitled, "Great Recession Watch ? Living With Mendacity in China." Why am I certain it is a great post? Because I wrote that same post, with that exact same conversation, IN MY HEAD, many times...
Fake China Joint Ventures. Why You Calling Me, I'm Not The Guy!
Posted on March 27, 2009Four in the mornin and they haul rubin in, Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs. The wounded man looks up through his one dyin eye Says, whad you bring him in here for? he aint the guy! Bob Dylan, Hurricane (for the other side of the story, go here) Not sure why, but just about every week for the last month, I have been getting calls or emails from tiny tech...
The Legal Basics On Starting A China Business. Clinical Testing As Example.
Posted on March 25, 2009One of the many things I love about being a lawyer is learning about various industries. What so happens to lawyers is that we get one client in an industry, and then, through word of mouth, we end up getting a whole slew of others in the same industry...
Workshop On China's Second Tier Cities: Qingdao And Ningbo. Shanghai Westin Bund, March 31.
Posted on March 25, 2009China Law Blog's own Steve Dickinson and Bill Dodson of the This is China Blog will be sharing the stage at the upcoming Benulux Chamber of Commerce (BenCham) workshop. The workshop is being put on "in cooperation with SwissCham and The JLJ Group" at the Westin Bund in Shanghai on March 31...
How To Shut Down Your China Business. Hint: Do Not Emulate The Baltimore Colts.
Posted on March 24, 2009Just about whenever I read about some company leaving China in the middle of the night, I think about the Baltimore Colts and this line from "Beware: Do Not Read This Poem": statistic: the US bureau of missing persons re- ports that in 1968 over 100,000 people disappeared leaving no solid clues nor trace only a space in the lives of their friends Then I wonder if the company that has left China without leaving...
China WFOE. Do It Right Or Your Money Never Leaves.
Posted on March 22, 2009We are programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave! China Economics Blog used the term, Hotel California effect (borrowing from a scholarly article), to describe the problems foreigners so often have in getting their money out of China...
Ethnic Profiling And China Business
Posted on March 21, 2009Make no mistake about it, even in these allegedly enlightened times, a whole lot of stereotyping and ethnic profiling goes on in international business. The other day, I was telling an American client how it was time for us to look start seizing assets of a Norwegian company that owed my client a lot of money and appeared to be making no effort to pay it...
Coke's Failed China Deal. Private Equity Will Live To Do Deals Another Day.
Posted on March 19, 2009The South China Post did a story today on China's having used its antitrust law to block Coke's purchase of Huiyuan. The article is entitled, "China raises chills as Coke bid bottled up," and it talks about whether the blocking of this deal will signal the death of foreign private equity investments in China...
China Rejects Coke Deal. We Told You All This Long Ago.
Posted on March 18, 2009David Barboza of the New York Times is out with an excellent article that nicely sums up why China rejected Coca Cola's bid to purchase Huiyuan. The article is entitled China Blocks Coke Bid for Juice Maker, and it does a great job summarizing the rejection because it quotes China Law Blog's own Steve Dickinson and because it reaffirms what we have been saying all along...
China Company Owe You Money? A "New" Way To Get It.
Posted on March 17, 2009My firm just seized a large sum of money from an Asian company that has owed our client a large sum of money for some time. I cannot describe this case here because it is still ongoing, but it makes for a great example of a little known way to grab money from Chinese companies...
China Business. Turns Out It Is Easy After All.
Posted on March 13, 2009I did a post the other day entitled, "China Business. We Never Said It Would Be Easy" In that post, I talked about how the global (and China's) economic downturn is accelerating legal problems for foreign businesses. Someone named Tim left the following comment, to which this post is addressed: I think there is a disconnect between your assertions of Beijing interests in not turning back the clock and what is happening on the ground...
Barbie In China Writ Large.
Posted on March 12, 2009Many years ago, my youngest daughter, now 11, would email the same-aged daughter of a Chinese lawyer with whom I had worked on a couple of cases and with whom I had become friends. What always amazed me about the correspondence (emails sent to my daughter were translated into English by the Chinese lawyer) between the two girls was how amazingly similar their lives were...
China Law Blog On China Business Show. Tuesday, March 10, At 2:00 pm PST.
Posted on March 10, 2009I am going to be interviewed tomorrow by the irrepressible Christine Lu regarding how China law impacts foreign businesses there. The interview will be a part of Christine's China Business Show. It will start at 2pm PST and go for 30 minutes. Go here to listen...
China Business. Nobody Ever Said It Would Be Easy.
Posted on March 10, 2009Tough times make for tough business and China is certainly no exception. For foreign companies doing business in or with China, I am seeing increasing problems or the likelihood of increasing problems in the following four areas: 1. Intellectual Property...
China Business. We Never Said It Would Be Easy.
Posted on March 10, 2009Tough times make for tough business and China is certainly no exception. For foreign companies doing business in or with China, We are already seeing increasing problems and/or the likelihood of increasing problems in the following four areas: 1. Intellectual Property...
China. Friend Or Foe? Opportunity Or Challenge? Or, Why Can't We All Just Get Along?
Posted on March 08, 2009I got an email today from a client touting his success at sourcing wind energy components from China. My client's description of this project nicely sets forth why trade with China should not be oversimplified. Speaking of oversimplification, today is also the day before the final episode of this season's Dr...
China Auto. Who Calls The Shots?
Posted on March 07, 2009Great discussion going on in the blogosphere regarding consolidation/globalization of China's auto industry. I am of the strong view that the issues surrounding China's auto industry extend well beyond that particular industry as they pull in all sorts of issues, including China's companies going international, Chinese government involvement in industry, consumer sentiment, and how to handle manufacturing overcapacity...
SXSW @ M1NT Shanghai. February 28 at 9:00 pm.
Posted on February 24, 2009What a great excuse for a party! On February 28, from 9 pm until 11:30 pm at M1NT Shanghai The Chinese Business Network and Symbio will be putting on "an official pre-SXSW cocktail...to highlight China's tech sector presence at SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX in March...
China's Courts: "Populist Vehicle or Party Puppet?"
Posted on February 24, 2009The US-Asia Law Institute website has a webcast entitled, ?China?s Changing Courts: Populist Vehicle or Party Puppet?? It features a truly stellar panel of China law scholars, including Prof. Ben Liebman of Columbia Law School, Prof. Xin ?Frank? He of the City University of Hong Kong School of Law, Prof...
How To Recharge Your China Mobile Card
Posted on February 23, 2009Unable to read either Mandarin or Chinglish well enough to recharge your China Mobile card? I recommend you read the China Ginger post, entitled, "How to recharge a China Mobile card in English," with step by step instructions (in English) on how to do exactly that...
Getting Your Consumer Product Into China.
Posted on February 22, 2009Silk Road International has an excellent post on importing consumer products into China. The post is entitled, "Q & A about Importing into China," and it starts out discussing why importing Western product into China is so rife with opportunity. To grossly summarize, more and more Chinese will pay for the better quality and higher prestige Western goods offer...
BREAKING NEWS: Did "Pure Fabrication" Move The Yuan Market?
Posted on February 18, 2009The internet is abuzz with recent news that Chris Devonshire-Ellis of China Briefing may have influenced movement in the Yuan-Dollar conversion rate by what is being described by Chinese governmental authorities on the China Banking Regulatory Commission website as a "pure fabrication:" To summarize, China Briefing Magazine did a post claiming to have interviewed a Chinese governmental official who talked of the Yuan weakening to around CNY6...
Did "Pure Fabrication" Move The Yuan Market?
Posted on February 18, 2009The internet is abuzz with recent news that Chris Devonshire-Ellis of China Briefing may have influenced movement in the Yuan-Dollar conversion rate by what is being described by Chinese governmental authorities on the China Banking Regulatory Commission website as a "pure fabrication:" To summarize, China Briefing Magazine did a post claiming to have interviewed a Chinese governmental official who talked of the Yuan weakening to around CNY6...
Want To Succeed In China Business? Make Sure Your Business Is Legal.
Posted on February 17, 2009Just got back from Chicago/Evanston, where I was on a panel at Northwestern's University's Kellogg School of Management's Greater China Business Conference. The Conference was excellent and I am sure I will be referring to it again over the next few days...
China Law And Corruption. You'd Better Know Which Way The Wind Blows.
Posted on February 13, 2009By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson There's an expression out there about tides exposing things but I know if I try to use it I will muck it up, so I'm going to quote from that which I know: Bob Dylan: Johnny's in the basement Mixing up the medicine I'm on the pavement Thinking about the government The man in the trench coat Badge out, laid off Says he's got a bad cough Wants to...
China Patent Reform. When China is Good.....
Posted on February 13, 2009Regular readers know that CLB generally does not like to write much about upcoming laws. There are three reasons for this. One, there are plenty of existing laws about which to write and those, for obvious reasons, tend to be more central. Two, upcoming China laws often never come...
Managing Your China Business Through The Downturn
Posted on February 11, 2009Ft.com has a very helpful article on how to handle the economic downturn in China and in India, written by Jayashankar M. Swaminathan, professor of operations, technology and innovation management at the University of North Carolina?s Kenan-Flagler Business School (h/t to CalPolyMBA blog) The article is entitled, "Managing in a downturn:Looking long term on the passage to ?Chindia...
The WTO, China's Media, Copyrights And Other IP. It's A Control Thing.
Posted on February 10, 2009By Steve Dickinson As we previously reported, the WTO decision in the copyright claim brought by the U.S. against China was recently released. As expected, the U.S. claims victory since it prevailed on two of three claims. However, careful review shows the U...
Sanlu's Lessons For Foreign Managers In China....Because Jail Is Probably Not Where You Want To Be.
Posted on February 09, 2009By: Steve Dickinson The China Economic Review recently published this column by CLB's own Steve Dickinson, entitled, "Foreign Managers Are Not Above the Law." [subscription presently required] It bears mentioning that Steve wrote this article in China (where he lives and works) before the news of the Peanut Corporation of America's salmonella outbreak in the US...
China Law For Foreigners. Slip Sliding Away.
Posted on February 06, 2009For the last few years, one of the main themes of this blog has been how China has and will continue to increase its enforcement of its commercial laws, particularly as they apply to foreigners. We have written about the increase in crackdowns on those in China without the proper visa, about closing of unregistered businesses, the need to comply with the Labor Contract Law, and a stepping up of environmental enforcement...
Which China City Is Best for Mordachai?
Posted on February 04, 2009Got a somewhat weird email today, but it makes sense, on some level, so here goes: Dear Mr. Harris: A question you may want to answer on your blog: If you were 25 again -- crisp J.D. in hand but, alas, no job -- which city in China would you move to? You've noted that there's more to China than Beijing and Shanghai but I was wondering where you thought the future was located...
The Cities Of China. China's Cities. Metropolises In China.
Posted on February 03, 2009Well you get the point. The Little Red Book (a pretty cool new blog on advertising in China) recently did a series of posts nicely setting out various mostly marketing type facts/statistics on some key China cities. So far, they have done "snapshots" of Xi'an, Wuhan, Tianjin, Shenyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, Jinan, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou...
Doing Business In China Director's Conference. Beijing And Shanghai, March 28 Through April 3.
Posted on February 02, 2009Global Navigation, a peer to peer resource for boards of directors of multinational corporations and an affiliate of Corporate Board Member magazine, is putting on a seminar on board-related issues involving China. Its agenda and the speakers are absolutely first rate and I plan to attend...
The Death And Birth Of China Factories.
Posted on January 31, 2009Loretta Chao and Andrew Batson of the Wall Street Journal have written an excellent piece on what is going on these days with China factories. The article is entitled, "China's Small Factories Struggle," and it is about factories closing, factories changing to meet changing demand, and about factories starting up...
WTO China Piracy Ruling: It Ain't Worth A Thing....
Posted on January 30, 2009Forbes Magazine (which, BTW, does a consistently excellent job in covering China) has a new and interesting article out, entitled, "U.S. Talks Up WTO Piracy Ruling, But It's All Wind" and subtitled, "Washington claims that the trade body took its side in a suit against China, yet the decision will not halt intellectual property theft...
USTR Report On China's WTO Compliance. This Is What The Damn Thing Says.
Posted on January 27, 2009The other day I did a post on the United States Trade Representative Office's (USTR) release of its report on China's compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The report is a daunting 115 pages and at the time we wrote about it, in our post entitled, "USTR Releases Its Report On China's WTO Compliance...
Ox, Shmox, It's Gonna Be A Pox. Why I Have No Faith In Chinese Real Estate For 2009.
Posted on January 27, 2009First, let me get my biases/perspectives out on the table. I am a lawyer. What this means is that no matter how much the media may tout me as riding some sort of second wave (check out this super-cool article!), my training compels me to look at everything with a jaundiced and conservative eye, particularly investments...
BREAKING NEWS: Obama Called Hu And Threw Geithner Under The China Bus.
Posted on January 27, 2009Got this news from a very close friend of mine who is very high up in the media, very connected, and very reliable. All I can say is that we go way, way back and I trust him implicitly (though he would also not be above feeding me something like this to make a fool out of me so he can laugh about it for years afterward -- perhaps in revenge for the time I...
Obama And Geithner On China. Elecfion Hangover Or The Way Things Will Be?
Posted on January 25, 2009James Fallows writes an interesting piece, entitled, "Broader point about Geithner, Obama, China, and 'manipulation'" setting out his concerns on how the Obama administration is treating/going to treat China. To summarize what Fallows says (and hey, if I am not summarizing it properly, go ahead and attribute it to me) is that Obama is clearly capable of nuance...
Hey Buddy Can You Spare A Yuan, Part III -- Is Micro-Finance China's Next BIG Thing?
Posted on January 25, 2009A couple years ago, we wrote about small business and consumer lending in China, in posts entitled, "Hey Buddy, Can you Spare a Yuan? The Sorry State of SME and Consumer Lending in China." and "Hey Buddy, Can you Spare a Yuan, Part II -- The Sorry State of SME and Consumer Lending in China...
How To Get A China Visa. It Ain't Easy....
Posted on January 25, 2009Post over at I Only Like China, entitled, "Visa troubles: trials, tribulations and tomfoolery," does a nice job comparing the various China visas and setting out the machinations one often has to go through to get one. In defense of China on this securing a United States visa is no easier/better...
Obama And Geithner On China. Election Hangover Or The Way Things Will Be?
Posted on January 25, 2009James Fallows writes an interesting piece, entitled, "Broader point about Geithner, Obama, China, and 'manipulation'" setting out his concerns on how the Obama administration is treating/going to treat China. To summarize what Fallows says (and hey, if I am not summarizing it properly, go ahead and attribute it to me) is that Obama is clearly capable of nuance...
Is Your China Business Recession Resistant? What Is?
Posted on January 24, 2009One of the things I have always found fascinating is how macro economic issues can have such widely varying micro economic impacts. By this I mean that when an economy starts tanking, let's say 10%, the impact on individual businesses can be all over the map...
China Bribes And Transparency.... Or Why The FCPA Matters.
Posted on January 23, 2009China Journal has an excellent interview with Alexandra A. Wrage, president of Trace International, a nonprofit group that works with corporations to reduce bribery as they do business abroad. The post is entitled, "Bribes and Transparency on Chinese Holidays: A Primer," and it sets out the basics of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and some of the most important things to do and to avoid to remain in compliance with it...
China Joint Ventures And The Hotel California Effect.
Posted on January 22, 2009By way of explanation, here are the key lines from the Eagles' song, Hotel California: We are programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave! China Economics Blog used the term, Hotel California effect (borrowing from a scholarly article) to describe the problems foreigners so often have in getting their money out of China...
USTR Releases Its Report On China's WTO Compliance. Will Someone Please Read The Damn Thing?
Posted on January 21, 2009Professor Clarke at the Chinese Law Prof Blog did a post linking over to the United States Trade Representative Office's just released report to Congress on China's compliance (and non-compliance) with its WTO obligations. It consists of 115 pages and Professor Clarke states that he has no comments because he has not read it yet...
Taking Depositions In China. It Can Be Done. Just Kidding.
Posted on January 19, 2009Not sure how I missed this until now, but Experience Not Logic did an excellent series of posts on taking depositions in China, here, here, here, and here. The first post sets out the issue: Here's the scenario: you're a litigator preparing a case in the United States...
Tort Liability For China Counterfeit Goods?
Posted on January 19, 2009Blogger Ryan McLaughlin (and my firm's webmaster) recently posted on media coverage of the death of his beloved Golden Retriever, believed to have been caused by a package of Optima dog food. Mars makes Optima dog food, but it does not ship it or sell it in China...
China's New Labor Law. On The Mat, But Not Down For The Count.
Posted on January 19, 2009In early December, 2008, in "China's New Labor Contract Law. Harmonized Out Of Existence?" we wrote about hearing from clients how local officials were giving them broad hints that they would not be too tough on enforcing China's new Labor Contract Law, so long as those companies maintained their employment numbers...
China Cracking Down On Illegal Foreigners. Duh.
Posted on January 18, 2009Twice last week I got calls from companies wanting to get legal in China. URGENTLY. One company is in Shandong province, the other is in Shanghai. Both have been operating illegally in China for years. I asked both "why now?" and they both gave essentially the same response: I want to register my business in China so I can work in China legally...
China: On Why To Stay Current On Your Rabies Shot
Posted on January 18, 2009Tim Johnson, at the always interesting China Rises, recently wrote on the upsurge in rabies cases in China in a post entitled, "Rabies explodes in China." (h/t Time China Blog) Much of this increased incidence of rabies has been in Southern China. Are your rabies shots up to date?...
Chinese Drywall. If You Think That Is Bad.....Just Wait.
Posted on January 15, 2009Absurdity, Allegory and China is doing an excellent job in covering the recent problems with Chinese drywall that have cropped up in Florida. AAC has done a series of posts on this issue, the most recent one, entitled, "Just Follow the Links," which, as its name implies, links over to the previous ones...
The Latest On Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) In China
Posted on January 13, 2009The following is an outline of a talk co-blogger Steve Dickinson gave yesterday at The China Economic Review" forum on "Foreign Direct Investment in China: Optimizing FDI strategy in the current economic climate." UPDATE AND FORECAST OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR FDI IN CHINA I...
Trademarks In China. A Whole Lotta Ways To Go.
Posted on January 12, 2009Foreign companies contemplating doing business in China are getting more sophisticated about the need to register their trademarks in China. I think. I say this because the number of companies contacting my firm who think the have a trademark in China simply by virtue of the fact that they may have one in Puducah has drastically declined...
China's Labor Laws. Worry Me Or Worry Me Not.
Posted on January 11, 2009About a month ago, we did a post entitled, "China's New Labor Contract Law. Harmonized Out Of Existence?" In that post, we (I say we here because some of what I was reporting was coming to me from co-blogger Steve Dickinson who is based in China) talked about how local and provincial authorities were giving out broad hints that they were not going to be all that keen about strictly enforcing China's labor laws other...
How To Have A China Ready Supply Chain
Posted on January 10, 2009The most recent issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine has a really informative article by Steven Ganster on China. The article is entitled, "The China-ready Supply Chain: Key attributes to ensure a high degree of readiness for doing business well with China," and it does an excellent job setting out what foreign companies must be on the lookout for "doing business well with China and getting excellent performance from your supply chain...
China Law Blog As Flavor Of The Week
Posted on January 08, 2009At the end of every year and the beginning of the new one, many (most?) blogs do a post extolling the previous year's posts, their own blog's longevity and/or ever increasing readership, and talking about how great it is to blog for such smart/astute/wonderful people, and why this blog is so different from all the other blogs out there...
A Shanghai Event: China FDI For 2009. January 13, 2009.
Posted on January 07, 2009On January 13, from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm, The China Economic Review will be putting on a seminar/forum, entitled, "Foreign Direct Investment in China: Optimizing FDI strategy in the current economic climate." Do NOT miss it. China Economic Review describes it as follows: Foreign Direct Investment has always been a major contributor to China?s economic development, but it?s fallen for the first time...
Promising China Blog: ChinaBizGov
Posted on January 06, 2009Of those who comment on our blog, I never remember who agrees or disagrees with me on issues, but I always remember those who make me think. That is why I remember G.E. Anderson and that is why I was so happy to learn (from Professor Donald Clarke, the brains behind the Chinese Law Professor Blog) that G...
The China Economy For Foreign Companies
Posted on January 04, 2009I was interviewed a couple weeks ago by a reporter who wanted to know what impact the declining economy in China was having on my law firm's clients. I told her none. I said that so far, anyway, not a single client had even mentioned China's declining economy as a factor in its decision-making...
China's New Patent Law Amendments. The Times They Are A Changing....
Posted on January 01, 2009Recieved an email from Toronto-based international lawyer, Paul Jones, on China's just amended patent laws. I liked it so much, I secured Paul's permission to run it here: "Last week in Beijing there was the last meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People?s Congress for 2008...
Employment In China Is Job One. Make This Your Business.
Posted on December 30, 2008When I was in high school, I went to a bakery in Budapest, Hungary, during the Communist era. The bakery was tiny, the kind that in the United States would have at most two people working there. I was the only customer. I ordered from one woman, was instructed to go to the cash register by another woman, had my pastry wrapped by another woman, handed to me by a fourth woman, and paid a...
Is China Going Green, Part XVIII: It Is, But Damn It's Tough To Make A Buck On China GreenTech.
Posted on December 29, 2008One of the great things about being a lawyer is that you get to work with and observe a diversity of businesses. My firm has helped all kinds of businesses get into China and do deals with Chinese companies and if I had to single out one industry that has the highest percentage of failures, I would pick those that are environmentally related...
Protection Money And Your China Business. Are We There Yet?
Posted on December 27, 2008"I won't pay. I know too much about extortion." Tony Soprano, Season 3, Episode 7, "Second Opinion" One of the "interesting" things about representing companies in emerging markets is the huge variance organized crime can play. The Associated Press, in a story entitled, "China readies for crackdown on organized crime," recently wrote on how the Chinese government is cracking down on organized crime There is one country in which my firm does a substantial amount...
China Melamine Yet Again And This Time It's Getting Mighty Fishy.
Posted on December 25, 2008Most of you probably already know more about melamine than they ever expected. Melamine refers to both a chemical and to a resin produced from it. Human ingestion of melamine "may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer...
Bernie Maddoff's China Connection. Be Careful Out There.
Posted on December 24, 2008Went to a party last night where a large group of us discussed the following scams: 1. Bernie Madoff. 2. Mark Dreier. I brought this one up and I have to give Dreir credit for managing to pull off a 300 million dollar scam, yet gain very little recognition for it because Madoff so quickly threw him off the front pages...
China Sourcing Done Right In These Tough Times.
Posted on December 22, 2008The weakened economy has served to highlight the renewed need to engage in best practices when securing product from China and Ashton Udall over at the Global Sourcing Blog has a nice post out on what companies need to be doing on this front in these tough times...
China Heavy: He's Back....
Posted on December 21, 2008Jack Perkowski, who knows as much about China business as anyone, recently wrote a piece for the Far Eastern Economic Review, entitled, "The Return of China Heavy." By China Heavy, Perkowski is referring to what some call the "real China," the China beyond the Westernized portions of places like Shanghai and Beijing...
How To Secure Your China Quote.
Posted on December 21, 2008Not exactly sexy, but absolutely crucial for anyone sourcing product from China are the nuts and bolts of how to do so. I have been around long enough to see the countless mistakes sourcing neophytes can make when buying product overseas, including the following: 1...
There Are The Laws When Times Are Good And There Are The Laws When Times Are Bad. Are China's Bureucrats Shock Troops Against Foreign Business?
Posted on December 19, 2008One of the things I love about being an international lawyer is using outside events to interpret the law. Now I know this is going to anger a lot of people, but non-lawyers generally do a terrible job interpreting the law. This is true worldwide. Examples of this abound: Non-lawyers tend to look for "the law" that applies to their situation...
US Files WTO Case Against China. Tell Us Something We Don't Know.
Posted on December 19, 2008The United States has hit China with a WTO case, contending China has been subsidizing its exporters, particularly its largest and best known companies. The US government is alleging that China's central government, provinces and cities have all been paying subsidizing many Chinese companies that export...
China: Still THE Place For Growth.
Posted on December 18, 2008In a post entitled, "Why China Matters, Part 2," Steve Ganster explains why Western businesses should and do continue to look to China for growth and for manufacturing. Yes, China's growth is slowing considerably, but at least we are still using the word, "growth...
China, Somali Piracy, And Minding The Gap.
Posted on December 18, 2008I am a big fan of Thomas Barnett who is, perhaps, most famous for dividing countries between core and gap, as explained here by Wikipedia: Barnett has termed the globalized countries the "Functioning Core," or simply "the Core." The other countries are part of the "Non-Integrating Gap," or simply "the Gap...
You Want China Guanxi? You Can't Handle China Guanxi.
Posted on December 17, 2008Apologies to Jack Nicholson. Having grown up in a small Midwestern city, I have an inherent (and what I see as a healthy) distrust of government. Every government. Anywhere. I was yet again reminded why when I read this excellent Wall Street Journal article on British Petroleum's recent problems in Russia, entitled, "Misreading the Kremlin Costs BP Control in Russia Venture...
Finance People. Shanghai Says Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
Posted on December 16, 2008There is a fairly prevalent theory that the best time to start a new business is during a recession/depression. I buy that. During tough times, established companies often disappear, get overly cautious, and lay off scads of good people, who can be hired relatively cheaply...
China: It Ain't The Business, It's The Pot Of Cash.
Posted on December 13, 2008I rarely have revelations, but after being knocked over the head countless times over the years, I finally got one regarding how Chinese businesspeople view their businesses differently from how American businesspeople view theirs. The other day, a deal my law firm had been working on for a US company fell through, much to the consternation of nearly everyone involved...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About China's Anti-Monopoly Law.
Posted on December 12, 2008Global mega-firm DLA Piper has online an 18 page booklet that does a truly superb job of explaining China's anti-monopoly laws and how they will impact your business. [h/t Experience Not Logic, who appropriately called his post, "There's No Competing With This AML Guide"]...
"My China Business Has Just Fallen Off A F--king Cliff And You Want To Tell Me What I Should Do Next Time!?"
Posted on December 11, 2008Phone calls from potential clients always start out fun and this economic downturn has brought in a whole slew of new clients and potential clients needing legal help in dealing with the economic downturn. This post is on three potential clients whose situations were so bad that I had to suggest they not hire us at all...
China And The US. Which Of Us Is The Most Capitalistic?
Posted on December 11, 2008"'You sit by yourself grasshopper. What do you think of?' -Master Po 'My mother, my father. Both gone. I am alone.' 'You hear the flock of birds flying overhead? You hear the fish? The beetle?' To all of this the young Caine nods. 'In this crowded place you feel alone...
2009 China Holiday Schedule
Posted on December 11, 2008CnReviews nicely sets out China's holiday schedule for 2009. Knowing me, I will probably remember to consult it only when nobody is responding to my emails/phone calls. The key dates are as follows: January 1-2 New Year's January 25-30 Chinese New Year April 4-6 Qingming Holiday May 1 Labor Day May 28-29 Duanwu Holiday October 1-8 National Day Just remember, January, April, May and big-time in October...
You Want A Lawyer Job In China (Asia)? Read This.
Posted on December 11, 2008Above the Law (this is the site that had my firm merging with Baker & McKenzie???!), just did a post on how the Asian legal market is not as hot as the New York Times and other MSM have made it out to be. In other words, if you are a Western lawyer hoping to get hired in Asia, you had better have some credentials evidencing a serious Asia connection...
China Food Products: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em.
Posted on December 10, 2008Met with a food client today that imports about 85% of its product from Asia and nearly half that from China. Its sales are still growing. "But I thought people were moving away from China product because of all the safety scares," I said to him. "They are," he told me, "but not nearly as fast as they are running to them because of their low price and because they do not even know they...
China Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents. It's All The Same To Me, I'm An Air Conditioned ....
Posted on December 10, 2008In its post, "Why I Should Stop Reading IP Case Summaries in the News," China Hearsay does a great job attacking a Xinhua news story on what appears to have been a legal victory by Apple Computer in a trademark lawsuit. China Hearsay is justifiably ticked off about the misstatements in and extreme vagueness (can something be extremely vague?) of the article and in attacking the article, actually (inadvertently) does a really good job setting...
Young, Educated, And Bi-Lingual And Making Less Than $20,000 A Year?
Posted on December 09, 2008The always interesting BizCult is in the midst of a decidedly unscientific expat salary survey. In its post, "The Real Slim, Shady Expat Wages Stand Up," BizCult reveals that of "15 respondents so far, the majority are 26-30 year old professionals from North America making US$10,000-$19,000 a year...
The Chinese Are Coming, Part XVII. This Time's It's Real Estate And No, There Is No Visa With That.
Posted on December 08, 2008All Roads Lead to China recently did a post entitled, "Real Estate Assets Lure Chinese Investors," on how a group of Chinese investors is going to the United States to purchase distressed homes. Yes, but mostly no. The article on which All Roads bases his post comes from the Shanghai Daily and it goes a long way towards confirming what I already thought...
China's New Labor Contract Law. Harmonized Out Of Existence?
Posted on December 08, 2008As regular CLB readers now, we have been flacking China's new labor contract law since even before its inception at the beginning of this year. Without a doubt, it has been one of our two or three most popular topics. To wit: --"China's Proposed Labor Law:Going After Capitalists Like China, 1967" -- "China's Proposed Labor Law Causing Sucking Sounds" -- "China's New Labor Law: Enforcement Is The Key" -- "China's Brand New Labor Law Regulations...
Ranking Creditors. China Comes In Dead Last.
Posted on December 06, 2008I had a long and arduous meeting recently with a long term client. The client had called me to discuss its difficulties in getting paid and its difficulties in making its payments. I suggested a big meeting, to which he bring all of the documents relating to those to whom his company owed money and all of those who owed his company...
Sexism China Style. Not A Good Thing.
Posted on December 05, 2008When I first read this post over at the Josh in China blog (why are there so many Joshs in China, anyway?), I smiled. But then I frowned. Okay, I didn't really frown, but I'm going for literary effect here. The post is entitled, "Interesting Cultural Differences" and it astutely (albeit reflexively) notes how the women at Chinese toll booths are uniformly "extremely good looking girls...
China Is One Lousy Investor. And This Is What We Are Waiting For?
Posted on December 05, 2008In its post, "China Not Brave Enough to Save the World," the always excellent China Economics Blog, makes the valid point that China (and by China I think we mean the China sovereign funds) is a terrible investor. Its history indicates that and according to this article, so will its future...
China Kills Recycling! Waste Monster Keeps Growing!
Posted on December 03, 2008One of the things that has always fascinated me about microeconomics is how imperfectly it can track the macro picture. For example, on the macro level, we might hear of a country experiencing negative growth, but on the micro level, this means some companies might still be growing at 20 percent a year...
China PR Says Everything Is Fine And That Ain't Just Spin.
Posted on December 02, 2008Interesting though admittedly somewhat unscientific poll up on the Capital Record blog (a consistently thoughtful blog which I just added to our blogroll), in its post, "Poll portends positive for China PR." The post is on a poll conducted on the blog finding that 75% of 56 respondents see a positive year ahead for PR in China: Sure, it?s not a statistically valid sample size, but we assume all those who took part in the...
Vote China Law Blog. Pretty Please.
Posted on December 02, 2008The ABA Journal (the official publication of the American Bar Association, the leading group for American lawyers, not tavern owners) recently named China Law Blog as one of the top 100 law blogs in the World. Well actually the world of American lawyer blogs, but as long as George Bush remains President, and he will through the duration of the blog election, I do not think it a stretch to say it is of...
If It's December, It Must Be China Blog Award Season.
Posted on December 01, 2008Chinalyst.net is doing their annual China Blog Awards and China Law Blog is not in this year's competition. "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." I have nothing but the greatest respect for Chinalyst, the people behind it, and for the competition itself and I truly was honored last year when you, our readers, voted us the Best China Blog in the Business/Law category...
Chinapolis: A Bit About China's Big Five Cities
Posted on December 01, 2008The most recent issue of Foreign Policy Magazine has a story entitled, the "Global Cities Index," in setting out the 60 cities "that shape our lives the most." Beijing (#12), Shanghai (#20), Guangzhou (#52), Shenzhen (#54) and Chongqing (#59) made the list and a sidebar article entitled, "Chinapolis," provides the following information on these cities: Beijing (#12) Population: 11...
Reflections Of THE China Bridge Blogger.
Posted on December 01, 2008EastSouthWestNorth. Is any English language China blog more influential? I don't think so. Roland Song of ESWN was to give a speech at CNBloggercon, but was unable to attend due to a family emergency, so he has put online what he was going to say, entitled, "Reflections of a Bridge Blogger...
Why Not To Get Sick In China.
Posted on November 30, 2008David Dayton of Silk Road International has a fascinating, though disquieting post, entitled, "Another Trip to the Healthy Department." Dayton's father was a doctor and Dayton tells us (in vivid detail) why he thinks it better never ever ever to go to a hospital in China, which hospitals he describes (based on a far amount of international experience) as being the worst he has ever seen...
David Dollar's Blog. I Almost Love It.
Posted on November 30, 2008There are four kinds of people: 1. Those who truly love the Financial Times and the Economist Magazine. 2. Those who claim to love the Financial Times and the Economist Magazine, but only because they want to be viewed a certain way. 3. Those who read the Financial Times and the Economist because they know they should, and 4...
China's Economy Will Be Hurting. Unless It Isn't.
Posted on November 30, 2008Elliot Ng over at CnReviews just came out with a very thoughtful post analyzing China's economy. The post is entitled, "Global financial crisis will hurt China much more than the US," and it says China's economy is based on a three legged stool, two of which are weak...
China Losing Manufacturing Luster. I Buy That.
Posted on November 30, 2008I am always saying that my law firm's clients (virtually all of whom are SMEs doing business internationally) are not leaving China because of its new Labor Contract Law, not leaving China because of its increased costs, and not leaving China because Vietnam is better...
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About China's Economy
Posted on November 28, 2008A good friend of mine who is an executive at a large American Bank that owns a good-sized chunk of a large China bank, sent me this report on China's economy from the World Bank. He said that "his" bankers think very highly of this report, as do I. Its highlights, as set forth on the World Bank's own website: The impact of the international financial and economic turmoil on China?s economy has been manageable...
How To Treat Your China Employees. I Dunno.
Posted on November 27, 2008Interesting article by James Hudson over at China Success Stories. Article is entitled, "Want Committed Employees? Learn to Trust Them." Its thesis is that if you want your Chinese employee to work hard for the company, like the company, and do what he or she can for the company, you, as the company, must show real faith in your employee...
China's Bar Exam. It's Getting Better All The Time.
Posted on November 26, 2008In his post, "The Bar is Passing People By," A Modern Lei Feng sets out the following pass rates for China's bar exam: 2002 - 8%? 2003 - 11% 2004 - 11% 2005 - 14% 2006 - 15% 2007 - 22% He goes on to posit that the percentages for this year's recently completed bar exam will be even higher and wonders whether China's rising bar pass rate will be a permanent thing...
China Agricultural Opportunities. Shandong Province As The Place To Be.
Posted on November 25, 2008I knew it. I knew China's new land reform laws making leasing of farmland easier and potentially more profitable would lead to opportunities relating to agriculture. But it took David Wolf over at the always interesting (you HAVE to check out the string of comments on this post!!!??!) Silicon Hutong and his post, "Why Land Reform is a Tech Opportunity," to explain exactly what those opportunities will be...
China In Pictures. MUST SEE.
Posted on November 23, 2008Google just came out with millions of photographs from the archives of Life Magazine and, as anyone who has seen Life Magazine would know, they are riveting (h/t Shanghaiist), I have been checking out photos of old Shanghai and Beijing (a/k/a Peking)...
China: Why PR And The Government Matter.
Posted on November 23, 2008In its post "More Sympathy for Microsoft," China Hearsay, very starkly does an excellent job highlighting why businesses should not/cannot ignore public relations and the Chinese government when making their key decisions. The post is on how Microsoft is getting so much heat from its decision to momentarily black out computer screens of those using counterfeit Microsoft software and how that tactic would almost certainly have gone better had Microsoft secured prior government approval before...
China As United States Or 350 Albanias?
Posted on November 23, 2008Fascinating post over at China Economics Blog, entitled, "The geographic similarities between China and the US." The post is on a recent Financial Times (FT) article, entitled, "How China can be more than 350 Albanias," that starts out noting all kinds of similarities between China and the US, but concludes by pointing out that China's per capita income is still less than that of Albania, though with 350 times the population...
China: Find Me That Factory! Part II
Posted on November 23, 2008A few days ago, in a post entitled, "China: Find Me That Factory," I wrote of how not a single client of my firm has been impacted by factory closures in China and I wondered what sort of factories it is that are closing: But, and I know this is going to sound strange, I have been asking my firm's China clients just about every weekday for the last month how they have been impacted...
How To Go To China For Innovation
Posted on November 23, 2008Business Week has an interesting article touting innovation in China and the other BRICs (Brazil, Russia, and India). (h/t to China Challenges) The article is entitled, "China and India: New Innovation and Talent Forces" and it is subtitled, "China and India are catching up quickly with Western nations in providing homegrown talent as well as heavy investment in R&D...
Where China's Universities Rank
Posted on November 22, 2008US News & World Report just came out with its rankings of the best universities in the World (h/t to Above the Law, which had my firm being acquired by Baker & McKenzie?) US News' rankings of US colleges and universities are hugely influential in terms of where people apply to college...
China Factories. Do You, You, Feel Like I Do? Part II
Posted on November 21, 2008There ought to be a law against quoting Peter Frampton twice in one week. The other day, I did a post on how to know, in a blink, whether the factory with whom you are contemplating a business relationship is a good one. We received some comments with such excellent additional gut-check type indicators, I felt a second post was warranted...
China's Internet. A How-To For SMEs
Posted on November 20, 2008There is a strange dearth of materials out there for foreign companies seeking the nuts and bolts of how to get into selling their products online in and into China. I was recently alerted to an paper written on this very subject by Lisa Conklin, for her MBA degree at Fudan University...
China: Find Me That Factory!
Posted on November 19, 2008There is an old joke about a United Nations family planning conference. A leader up front, trying to scare people about overpopulation, exclaims how there is a woman giving birth somewhere in the world every 3 seconds. A jokester at the back of the room stands up and says, "find me that woman!" I thought of that joke today...
China Factories. Do You, You, Feel Like I Do?
Posted on November 19, 2008I am always touting Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink. Reduced to two sentences, its thesis is that we humans overly worship logic to the detriment of our gut instincts, which are actually based on our lifetime of experience. In other words, your initial feeling about something is far more accurate than you think...
Why Your Chances Of Not Getting Your First China Order Are So High.
Posted on November 17, 2008Just about every week, my firm gets contacted by a US company that ordered product from China and never got anything or got something multiple levels of magnitude less than what they ordered. Much of the time, this is a first order from China. The US company is usually asking us what they can do to recover and most of the time (because the amount at stake is too little to hire an American law...
One Out of 1.3 Billion Loses It And Newsweek Proclaims China As "Most Stressful" Place On Earth.
Posted on November 16, 2008"Santa Clara" is among my Google alerts because my eldest daughter studies engineering at the University there. Friday, it was filled with stories of an engineer (apparently Chinese-American) who, after being laid off from his high tech start-up, killed three people at the company where he once worked...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Project
Posted on November 16, 2008The Green Leap Forward recently did a comprehensive overview of the Singapore-China eco-city going up on a massive scale just outside Tianjin. If you have any interest in eco-development, you should check it this post, entitled, "Creating A Better Life: A Closer Look at the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Project...
Promising China Blog: The China Observer.
Posted on November 14, 2008The China Observer blog has been up for about two months now and I have already become a regular reader. The blog is written by Joel Backaler, who describes himself as follows: Joel Backaler (???) first traveled to Beijing in 2001 and has since returned to the capital city where he works as the only non-Chinese analyst for a leading multinational IT and management consulting firm...
China: I Don't Want No Cheap Labor.
Posted on November 14, 2008Years ago, I wrote about how I ended up on the same Asiana Airlines Qingdao-Seoul-Seattle flight as a long-time client and friend of mine whose company, among other things, had been hugely successful in China in an industry where just about every other foreign company had failed...
China's Soft Power. Use It Properly Or Lose It.
Posted on November 14, 2008Very thoughtful piece on The Hypermodern on how China cannot take its position and status in the world for granted. The post is entitled, "The Loss of Soft Power," and it is well worth a read....
China Gets Back In The Rebate Game
Posted on November 14, 2008For years, China gave partial to full VAT (Value Added Tax) rebates on many of its products shipped out for export. Recently, however, China had begun to reduce and/or phase out many of those rebates. On November 1, 2008, China's State Council reversed itself and raised tax rebates on 3,486 items...
China: CleanTech Me Baby, One More Time.
Posted on November 13, 2008The Joint US - China Cooperation on Clean Energy Forum (JUCCCE -- Is that pronounced Juicy?) recently ended and China Environmental Law was there and has posted on it, in its aptly named post, "The Morning After." This post nicely summarizes went transpired and links over to various other sites for those who just can't get enough clean with their tech...
I Have Seen Wuhan's Future And It Is In Downstate Illinois
Posted on November 13, 2008So maybe spending three days with the in-laws in rural Central (a/k/a downstate) Illinois has diminished my faculties a bit (certainly having to use dial-up AOL did affect my mood), but what I saw there, along with my conversations with fellow blogger, Steve Dickinson, who just returned from Wuhan, China, have convinced me that Wuhan is the next Central Illinois...
China Shipyards -- Buying Opportunities Amidst The Rubble?
Posted on November 11, 2008The following is Steve Dickinson's second day report from the 2008 Maritime Conference he is attending in Wuhan, China. Today I acted as the moderator (in Chinese) for a series of presentations on ship financing. As with yesterday's discussion on shipbuilding, the presenters were mostly experienced lawyers from Hong Kong and Singapore...
China As Downturn Neophyte. If I Stick My Head In The Sand....
Posted on November 08, 2008CLB's own Steve Dickinson has just returned from the annual China Maritime Law Conference, made up mostly of China's leading maritime lawyers. This year's conference was in Wuhan. Steve reports as follows after the first day: I just finished the morning session of the first day of the All China Maritime Law Conference being held in Wuhan...
"Fly Me." Airplane Seizures In China And Why This Is Important:
Posted on November 06, 2008Bear with me here non-lawyers as I promise there will be some manna for you at the end. Just read a very good article in International Law Office by Harvey Lau of Baker & McKenzie (and no, my firm is not and has never been in merger talks with Baker & McKenzie, though we are honored by the rumors), on airplane seizures/arrests in China...
President-Elect Obama: The China View
Posted on November 06, 2008The Wu Way blog, provides the best analysis I have seen on how China views last night's election of Barack Obama as America's next president. The post is entitled, "How does China view an Obama Presidency?what does China think of Obama?" and it sees China (to the extent one can generalize about 1...
China Products. Be Gettin' 'Em While The Gettin' Is Good.
Posted on November 06, 2008So I just had an interesting conversation with a client today. This client manufactures really big things in China (sorry, I have to be so vague here) under his company's name and then sells these big things in the US. He was bragging about how good business has been for him lately...
China Maritime Law Conference. Wuhan, November 8-9.
Posted on November 06, 2008The 2008 China Maritime Law Special Topic Research annual meeting will be in Wuhan, China, this weekend, November 8 and 9. The conference will be at the absolutely gorgeous Shangrila Hotel in Wuhan. The meeting is jointly sponsored by the All China Bar Association Maritime Law Section, the Yangtzi River Maritime Law Association, The Hubei Province Bar Association, The Hubei Province Vessel Construction Trade Association and The Wuhan City Bar Association...
President-Elect Obama Quotes CLB In Acceptance Speech. Well Sort Of.
Posted on November 05, 2008"To those who would tear the world down --- we'll defeat you. To those who seek peace and security -- we support you." President-Elect Barack Obama, During his acceptance speech I like this division of countries and it corresponds with the argument I have often made as to why the United States should seek to work with China, not against it...
What Every Buyer Of China Product Must Do BEFORE Buying.
Posted on November 05, 2008David Dayton over at Silk Road International sets out what every buyer of China product must do before buying product from or having product manufactured in China. A summary of Silk Road's list: 1. Pay $150 or so and get a report on your company before you send any money over to China...
China: When Cultural Differences Matter.
Posted on November 04, 2008Regular readers know that I am not a big fan of going overboard on the need to know Chinese culture to do the typical business deal. Better to be a good businessperson than to know what color flowers to bring to a funeral. But, in other contexts, like managing an enterprise, or selling consumer products, culture can be everything...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About China's Carbon Markets.
Posted on November 03, 2008In its post, "China Carbon Forum 2008 Review," The Green Leap Forward blog provides an in-depth review of the China Carbon Forum, along with an excellent overview and prognosis of China's primary and secondary carbon markets. I recommend this post to anyone interested in learning more about China's carbon markets...
These 15 Chinese Cities Are Everywhere You Want To Be.
Posted on November 03, 2008Mastercard recently came out with its list of the 65 key cities driving growth in emerging markets worldwide. Fifteen Chinese cities made the list. (h/t China Business Blog) The top ten cities worldwide were as follows: 1 Shanghai China 2 Beijing China 3 Budapest Hungary 4 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 5 Santiago Chile 6 Guangzhou China 7...
America, China, And The World. We're No. 1.
Posted on November 02, 2008As good a foreign policy article as you will find in a US newspaper is a piece is by Washington Post "World Columnist," Robert Kagan, entitled, "Still No. 1." I learned of this article from foreign policy expert Thomas P.M. Barnett, who stated he agreed "with it 100%...
Ten Ways To Take Your Business Global (To China Too). A Podcast.
Posted on November 02, 2008Laurel Delaney of The Global Small Business Blog was on blogtalkradio the other day talking about 10 ways to take your business global. Ms. Delaney is one of the foremost experts on taking small businesses global and she shares a lot of good information in her thirty minutes here...
A China Real Estate Overview. What Next On Prices?
Posted on November 02, 2008Figuring out future real estate prices in China is "above my pay grade," but for those interested in an in-depth review of the current thinking on this issue, I recommend you go to the China Economics Blog post, "Housing Crisis in China: An overview." The post sets out an all-star lineup of articles on China real estate, pulling from Forbes, The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and Danwei...
Barack Obama And Krispy Kreme Want To Get Into China's Business. But What Will China Do?
Posted on November 01, 2008Two things the United States should not be exporting to China right now are our economic mess and our fat-laden diet. Yet, Barack Obama and Krispy Kreme are planning/seeking to do exactly that. In a Wall Street Journal story, entitled, "China-Trade Issue Thrust Into Races as Vote Nears," (h/t to China Journal) Obama makes clear that he believes the United States should be dictating to China what China should be doing with its own economy:...
China Dairy Farming The American Way
Posted on November 01, 2008Interesting post at MSNBC World Blog, on an American-style dairy farm in China. The post is entitled, "Dairy Farming American-Style in China," and it does a nice job setting out how to operate a business in China that produces quality product. Not as in depth as I would have liked, but certainly well worth the read...
China's Upcoming Circular Economy Law. What Goes Around..... Well, Not Exactly
Posted on October 30, 2008CLB co-blogger Steve Dickinson wrote the following article for the China Economic Review. Steve is the monthly legal columnist for the Review, which BizCult rightly raves about today in its post, entitled, "China Economic Review: In Review." Steve's conclusion: As written, this law is no big thing: For all the hype about recycling,the purpose of China?s Circular Economy Promotion Law (CEPL) is not to reduce waste...
China Is In A Pre-Consolidation Stage, But No Billy Joel Please.
Posted on October 30, 2008China Business Blog and Podcast has a great post up on what it calls China's pre-consolidation stage. The post is entitled, "Signs: Observing the pre-consolidation stage in China," and its gist is as follows: But I think there are some signs that are quite clear that are telling us what stage we are at in China?s growth ? and one of the defining features of this stage is what I call ?pre-consolidation,? meaning, generally, that...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About China Trade Shows.
Posted on October 30, 2008Chris Carr over at Cal Poly MBA Blog just did a post on trade shows in China, with a lot of really good and helpful links regarding the same. The post is entitled, "Visting a Trade Show in China," and in it, Chris rightly points out how "trade shows are a much, much more prominent marketing and promotion channel [in China] than in the US" and how "when that day comes when you have the...
Now Everyone Can Try China's Great Firewall At Home
Posted on October 28, 2008In its post, "The Great Firewall of China: Coming to a Browser Near You," Sinosplice alerts us to a new Mozilla Firefox that allows one to "have the frustration of the Great Firewall of China in the comfort of" one's own home: The Firefox add-on China Channel offers internet users outside of China the ability to surf the web as if they were inside mainland China...
Shenzhen: No Manufacturing Jobs, No Cry.
Posted on October 28, 2008Very interesting post on Shenzhen Undercover, entitled, "Shenzhen's Greater Plan: No Manufacturing, No Problem." Grossly summarized, put into my own words, and infused a bit with what I think is happening, the post essentially says that the reports of the death of China's economy, as evidenced by the closure of thousands of toy factories in and around Shenzhen, is greatly exaggerated...
Beijing Gourmand Blog: China Through The Food Door.
Posted on October 27, 2008There are two kinds of people. Those who hate going grocery shopping, and those who love it. I fit into the second category. I love it for various reasons. I love food. Going to the grocery store is for me what going to a stereo store is for an audiophile or going to a book store for a bibliophile...
Reading The Tea Leaves Of China's Economy -- An Official View
Posted on October 27, 2008Very interesting post on the Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics Blog, entitled, "Reading Tea Leaves: China?s Zhou Prepares For Crisis Impact." The post is by Andrew Batson, Wall Street Journal China reporter extraordinaire, and it sets out "a few key excerpts" from a special report Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People?s Bank of China, delivered to China?s legislature on Sunday on ensuring the stability of China's financial system: At present the external dependence of...
China Conference 2008. Dalian, China, October 30 to November 1.
Posted on October 27, 2008The third annual Global China Financial Forum will be taking place at the Dalian Expo Center in Dalian, China, from October 30 to November 1. This year?s conference will be co-hosted by ChineseWorldNet (out of Vancouver, Canada) and by the Dalian government and it will again focus on the financial side of investing in China and on Chinese companies securing equity financing from overseas...
China's Service Sector Will Reign, Part XX -- Diet Centers Getting Bigger?
Posted on October 26, 2008http://shenzhenundercover.blogspot.com/2008/10/chinese-health-is-trending-towards.html Chinese Health is Trending Towards Obesity China is getting fat and less healthy. It's true. I first wrote about this problem more than a year ago with my analysis of McDonald's in China...
Go Ahead And Quote Me: $100 = 100 RMB
Posted on October 25, 2008Jeremy Gordon at China Business Blog is out with his latest in his emminently quotable "Don't Quote Me" series. This one is entitle, "Don?t Quote Me (On When US$100=RMB100)" and it quotes Jack Perkowski, of ?Managing the Dragon? (the book and blog) on how Chinese view money...
Tainted China Milk Ends Up In The US. In The Courts, Anyway.
Posted on October 24, 2008China Hearsay (welcome back, Stan!) just posted on how parents of some Chinese children who "died or became ill after drinking infant milk formula contaminated with melamine say they will sue a subsidiary of a Chinese milk powder manufacturer based in the U...
How To Pay Your Chinese Supplier.
Posted on October 21, 2008In its post, "Paying your Chinese Supplier ? Know your payment terms and options in advance," SourceJuice does a yeoman like job setting out the various options for paying a Chinese supplier. The post explains the following options, and describes the risks of each: -- Advance, Cash in Advance or Cash Advance ? these are known as payment in advance terms -- Telegraphic Transfer, Telex Transfer, Bank Wire Transfers ? these are known as T/T...
Caijing on China's Economy. Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold.
Posted on October 21, 2008Tom Orlik, a very thoughtful freelance journalist based in Shanghai, with a real bent for finance and economics, was kind enough to send me his translation of a recent Caijing (probably China's best business magazines) article on China's economy. I liked the anlysis so much, I am running Tom's translation in full, below: China's GDP growth for 3Q08 came in at 9% yoy, down significantly from 10...
China's Courts And Tainted Milk. Never The Twain Shall Meet?
Posted on October 21, 2008This New York Times article does as good a job of any at setting out the issues China is facing in deciding whether to allow milk taint victims to pursue their claims in court. The article is, somewhat wrongly entitled, "Courts Compound Pain of China's Tainted Milk...
China Reductions In Force (RIFs). A Warped View.
Posted on October 20, 2008One of the problems with being a lawyer is that we oftentimes only see or hear about things when they are a problem. This can give us a somewhat warped view on things, but so be it. So when I say that terminating your Chinese employee will lead to problems 100% of the time, you need to take it with a grain of salt...
Vietnam Is The Next China, Part II. Only If You Completely Ignore Political Stability.
Posted on October 20, 2008Long-time client, a manufacturer of small steel products, has for months been "threatening" to move his factory to Vietnam, either to replace an existing factory in China or as an adjunct. Company was unhappy with China's increasing taxes and labor rates...
China Logistics. It's ALL Here.
Posted on October 20, 2008Richard Brubaker over at All Roads Lead to China just loves logistics. I don't love it, but I respect its importance. Anyway, Rich has taken to listing out and linking to the important China related logistics stories every week, and I see that as such an important task that I am going to take to linking over to Rich's blog every time he does that...
How To Fail In China Business.
Posted on October 20, 2008I like this list from the hitherto unknown (to me anyway) Lessons from the Road blog. The post is entitled, "The top 10 ways to keep from selling in China (or anywhere else)" and it is rife with common sense that applies to doing any sort of business internationally...
How To Globally (And In China) Protect Your Trademark
Posted on October 19, 2008Now I know I am always writing on protecting trademarks in China, but that is because I have seen far too many companies make the mistake of believing they do not need to register their trademark in China either because they have registered it in the United States or because they are "just" manufacturing their product in China, not selling it there...
China's Troubled Food And Drug Trade.
Posted on October 19, 2008Absolutely excellent article on the Council for Foreign Relations website on China food and drug safety. The article is entitled, "China's Troubled Food and Drug Trade" and it does a superb job explaining the food safety issues surrounding China food and drugs...
Searching For China Innovation. Don't Go Looking In Federal Way.
Posted on October 19, 2008David Wolf of Silicon Hutong has a very thoughtful post up on innovation in China. The post is entitled "Searching for China's Soul of innovation," and it nicely takes us through China's interrupted history of innovation and posits whether China will become a great innovator again, what it might take for that to happen, and what that might mean if it does...
Go To China. It's Better Than It Seems.
Posted on October 18, 2008I am just so glad James Fallows is writing about China. One hundred years from now, when the West is looking at why China is where it is, historians will read Fallows. In the most recent issue of Atlantic Monthly, in an article entitled, "Their Own Worst Enemy," Fallows does a great job explaining the disconnect between how the West sees China and how it really is...
China Law. Hong Kong Law. One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other.
Posted on October 18, 2008IP wunderkind Danny Friedmann at IP Dragon does a very nice job laying out the primary differences between Hong Kong law and Mainland China law in his post, "How do the People?s Republic of China and Hong Kong relate to each other regarding IPRs." The super-quick summary is as follows: 1...
Sushi, Asian Innovation, QQ, And The Digital Silk Road.
Posted on October 17, 2008Benjamin Joffe of Plus Eight Star has put up his Powerpoint presentation from the recently completed OpenWebAsia08 conference in Seoul. The Powerpoint is entitled, "Collaboration Beyond Culture" and it is on innovation in Asia and the tendency of the West to ignore it, at its own peril...
Business Bankruptcy In China. The Five Fold Path.
Posted on October 16, 2008Will Lewis at Experience Not Logic dissects an Economist article to come up with four methods failing businesses in China employ when faced with having to shut down their business: 1. Informal Agreements With Employees and the Government. Work out an agreement with your employees and the relevant governmental bodies to allow you to shut down...
China Business. I FEEL "The Second Wave."
Posted on October 15, 2008As a lawyer, I usually deal in facts, not feelings, but I've been pontificating about a feeling for the last few weeks, based mostly on an accumulation of facts and past experiences. The feeling I am getting is that Chinese companies are getting more sophisticated/businesslike/global...
Land Reform. It's A Coming. Sort Of?
Posted on October 14, 2008Not sure why the huge interest in this subject, but I have probably received more emails/comments asking if I am going to write about this than probably anything else ever. The "this" is China's expected changes to rural land laws. I was going to write about it after speaking with some of our food business clients who work with China, but I figure doing so now will stop the emails, so here goes...
How The Downturn Will Impact China Internet Business.
Posted on October 13, 2008In a post at Ogilvy China Digital Watch, entitled, "David Wolf?s take on how the downturn will impact China?s Internet sector," Kaiser Kuo discusses a recent talk he had this with David Wolf of Silicon Hutong on this very subject. Not saying this makes their assessment flawless, but Kuo and Wolf are two of the most knowledgeable people out there on China's internet so when they talk, I listen...
China Real Estate. Newsweek Says It's All Good.
Posted on October 13, 2008One of the advantages to living in a city without a decent newspaper is that until only a few weeks ago, virtually every article on local real estate would quote a local realtor talking about how the market is fine and how now is the time to buy a house...
What's New With China's Consumers
Posted on October 13, 2008McKinsey is just out with a new and very comprehensive survey and analysis of the Chinese consumer, entitled, "What's new with the Chinese consumer" (free registration required). Its subtitle is that "It?s hard for brand managers to keep pace with the shifting attitudes of Chinese consumers...
Shanghai's Maglev In Real Time
Posted on October 12, 2008The fastest I have ever gone on ground was in the Shanghai Maglev. It really is pretty amazing to be going past cars on a highway as though the cars are standing still. In its post, "Ride with me on the Shanghai Maglev," the Little Red Blog, shows us video of a Shanghai Maglev ride...
China's Service Sector Will Reign, Part XIX -- NBA In Full Court Press
Posted on October 12, 2008Since this is number 19 of this series, it should be pretty obvious by now that I am strongly of the view that China is ripe for foreign service businesses. Yesterday's New York Times has an interesting story, entitled, "N.B.A. and Partner to Help Build 12 Arenas in China," on how National Basketball Association (NBA) and AEG Worldwide are teaming up to design and build "at least a dozen arenas in China...
Pollution In China's Cities. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Feng Shui Factor, And What's Wrong With Yantai?
Posted on October 11, 2008China Environmental Law Blog just did a post, entitled, "China's Blacklisted Cities," on a recently released environmental report from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. The report calls out the following cities for their pollution problems: Bad Air: * Bayannur and Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia * Baiyin, Gansu * Urumqi, Xinjiang * Huanggang, Hubei Bad Water: * Hengshui and Cangzhou, Hebei * Linfen, Shanxi * Fuyang, Anhui * Tongchuan, Shaanxi * Wuwei, Gansu The report lists the...
The "New" American In China.
Posted on October 09, 2008Very interesting article in Esquire Magazine, entitled, "The New American" and subtitled, "Young entrepreneurial Americans are doing something they have not done much before. They are leaving. And even more than our government, our military, or our movies, they are expanding American influence in the world...
Asia's (China) Seven Supply Chain Challenges
Posted on October 09, 2008Asia Logistics Wrap is on part two of a very thoughtful seven part series on Asian supply chain challenges. For those involved in moving products into, within, or out of Asia, I strongly urge you to start reading this series. Part I is here and Part II is here...
The Ten Warning Signs Of A Bad China Deal
Posted on October 05, 2008The always excellent (but far too infrequent) Chinese Negotiation Blog recently posted on ten warning signs of an impending bad China deal in a post entitled, "Negotiating in China Can Get Complicated Fast." The post starts out stating two important and fairly obvious (though too often ignored) truths: -- Many westerners who enter into a negotiation with a Chinese counter-party are so sensitive to cultural and interpersonal issues that they lose sight of business issues...
China's New Investment Rules. Second Tier Is First Rate And The Service Sector Shall Reign.
Posted on October 05, 2008Paul Denlinger over at China Vortex has a good post up on where to invest in China going forward. The post is entitled, "The New Investment Rules For China," and it sets out the following seven rules for China investing: 1. "Avoid Shanghai and Beijing...
I Heart Henry Paulson. China Is His Thing.
Posted on October 05, 2008Not for anything he has said or done on the bailout, on which even those of us who agree it was necessary cannot truly be happy about. No, I like him for his opinions on what the United States must do in terms of its relations with China. Paulson just came out with a very thoughtful piece in Foreign Affairs Magazine, entitled, "A Strategic Economic Engagement: Strengthening U...
What's Gonna Happen To China's Economy? I Dunno.
Posted on October 03, 2008I am not a fan of economic predictions, mostly because they are virtually always slanted towards what is happening right now and also because they are wrong at least as often as they are right. I still find occasionally find them interesting and there is an interesting analysis of China's economy over at the 3q2u Blog, entitled, "What's happening in China's economy?" The post does a nice job analyzing what is driving China's economy right...
Shanghai To Replace New York As World's Financial Center. I Don't Think So.
Posted on October 01, 2008Interesting Washington Post article by Ariana Cha, on how Shanghai might eventually replace New York as a world financial center. The article is entitled, "Financial Hubs See an Opening Up at the Top: Wall Street's Long, Dominant Run Is Fading, Global Financiers Say," and it talks about how Wall Street is falling and others are rising, and it devotes much of its ink to Shanghai...
China's Service Sector Will Reign, Part XVIII -- WWE And Skimpy Bikinis.
Posted on October 01, 2008Sex sells. anonymous Sex and violence sells everywhere. Dan Harris Back when we first started this blog about three and a half years ago, I felt somewhat like a voice calling in the wilderness whenever we would tout how companies needed to look at China for more than just factories...
Vietnam Is The Next China. Only If You Completely Ignore Logistics.
Posted on October 01, 2008Third Party Logistics News recently posted on how those considering Vietnamese manufacturing should look long and hard at Vietnam's logistics problems. The post is entitled, "Vietnam : Lack of logistics infrastructure = higher logistics costs," and it contains good advice for those considering Vietnam...
So You Want To Be An International (China) Lawyer? Part III
Posted on September 30, 2008I am frequently emailed by college students, law students and even practitioners, seeking advice on what it takes to become an international lawyer. It seems the lawyer behind the Counterfeit Chic blog (an excellent blog, BTW) gets even more of these regarding "fashion law" and she gives answers in her post, entitled, "Fashion Law...
How To Handle Bad Product From Your China Supplier.
Posted on September 29, 2008Very interesting post by David Dayton over at Silk Road International, entitled, "Recent Chinese Negotiation Tactics: Translated!" The post is on the responses (excuses?) Chinese companies give when Westerners complain to them about product quality. David handles sourcing and quality control for mostly Western companies doing business in Asia and his post focuses on dealing with these responses while still within a supplier/buyer relationship...
Checking Out A Gory Car Accident. Can't Look Away. That's China Smack.
Posted on September 28, 2008I admit it. I think I like China Smack. I know I drop by there every once in a while and though I often feel like taking a shower afterwards, I keep going back. Truth From Facts does a good job describing what China Smack is all about and, in doing so, explains its appeal: ChinaSMACK is one of my favorite new China blogs...
China Joint Ventures. Can Things Get Any Worse?
Posted on September 27, 2008My 11 year old daughter is always asking me whether I can drive any slower. I usually respond to that by proving that I can. Seems almost as though China is now doing the same thing to me in response to my constantly harping on the dangers of China joint ventures? When I was just starting out as a lawyer, I negotiated what I thought was a great settlement for my client...
China's Brand New Labor Law Regulations. It's All Here.
Posted on September 24, 2008This post was written by Andrew Grieve, who works with us on our Chinese employment law matters. The implementation regulations for the new Chinese Labor Contract Law were promulgated on September 3. When the draft regulations were issued earlier this year, we discussed some of the proposed changes (here), and despite having shrunk from 45 articles to 38, the content of the regulations remain relatively intact...
What Is Happening With China's Economy?
Posted on September 22, 2008China Comment tells us, here. Problem is that what is happening right this minute may not be what happens next week. If the US bailout fails to occur or to stick, I fear we are all going down....
THE International Arbitration Center List.
Posted on September 22, 2008Was given this by Constance Kim, Los Angeles lawyer extraordinaire, a few months ago and then forgot all about it. Came across it today and realized how helpful it would be to our readers to put this online, so here it is. This is the most comprehensive list of international arbitration centers I have seen...
China's Courts, Tenth "Best" Out of Twelve.
Posted on September 21, 2008Just came across this article discussing a ranking of various Asian countries' judicial system, conducted by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) (h/t to Silk Road International Blog): 1,537 corporate executives working in Asia rated the judicial systems in the countries where they reside, using such variables as the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and corruption...
McCain And Obama. None Of The Above.
Posted on September 20, 2008A bit off topic here, but it is something I have been thinking about for months and it just will not go away. It is that neither McCain nor Obama are up to the task of leading our nation. The other day, a good sized group of us from all political persuasions were discussing Carly Fiorna's comment on how none of the four running for President or Vice President are qualified to be CEO of...
Research Guide To Hong Kong Law.
Posted on September 20, 2008Sergio Stone, Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian at Stanford Law School, and Roy Sturgeon, Foreign and International Law Librarian at Touro Law Center and a contributing editor at the Law Librarian Blog, have come out with what appears to be an excellent guide to legal research on Hong Kong law...
Is China's Financial System Safe?
Posted on September 20, 2008China Financial Markets Blog poses this question in its post, "Is China Safe?" Go there for both the post itself and for its long list of very thoughtful comments....
China Tourist Attractions
Posted on September 19, 2008One of the things I truly love about blogging on China is the interesting people I meet. One of those is Eutak (Tak for short), a software guy from Singapore who spent many years working for Microsoft here in the Pacific Northwest and then in Beijing...
Trademark Protection In The Global Marketplace
Posted on September 18, 2008This article was written by my friend, Brian Geoghegan, who describes himself as having "practiced trademark and copyright law since graduating in 1985 from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). In 2003, he finally left behind the megafirm lifestyle and founded GeoMark, a boutique trademark and copyright law firm...
China Joint Ventures And Really Bad Milk. What Can You Do?
Posted on September 17, 2008CLB's own Steve Dickinson was interviewed today by New Zealand newspaper, The Dominion Post, regarding Sanlu melamine tainted milk, in an article entitled, "What Fonterra Didn't Know." Some facts first. Wikipedia tells us this about Fonterra: Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd (NZX: FCGHA), generally known as Fonterra, is New Zealand's largest company by turnover...
Breaking News: CLB's Steve Dickinson On Bloomberg's "Asia Business Tonight" At 6:20 PM, China Time.
Posted on September 17, 2008CLB's own Steve Dickinson will be appearing live (from Qingdao, China) on Bloomberg's "Asia Business Tonight," tonight (Thursday) at 6:20 pm, China time. This translates to Thursday at 10:20 GMT, Thursday at 6:20 am, EST, Thursday at 3:20 am PST and Thursday 11:20 am, London time...
Melamine In China Baby Milk Powder -- Whoops Sorry.
Posted on September 16, 2008ImageThief is just out with a great post on the Sanlu melamine crisis. The post does an amazing job giving a history of China's food safety problems, dissecting the current one, and discussing in real world terms Fonterra (the New Zealand company involved in a joint venture with Sanlu) has handled it, and how Fonterra should have handled it...
China Baby Formula. Here We Go Again.
Posted on September 15, 2008Whenever there is a big food safety scandal, two things happen. Companies start calling us asking if we can protect them from such problems (we can improve their odds but nothing is guaranteed) and the press starts calling us with questions as to what went wrong...
The Impact Of China's Labor Contract Law.
Posted on September 15, 2008By: Dan Harris and Brad Luo It has been a little over eight months since China enacted its groundbreaking new Labor Contract Law (?LCL?), which is just enough time to preliminarily assess its impact. The LCL has already greatly impacted employee treatment in China and greatly impacted how Chinese employees view their rights...
McCain And Obama On China. In Their Own Words. BIG YAWN!
Posted on September 14, 2008I bring this to our readers as a public service, along with the warning that if you read either one while lying down, odds are you will fall asleep before you get to the second one. Anyway, I give you McCain and Obama, in their own words, on China, written for AmCham...
China Sales Contracts. Do You Know Where Your Law Is?
Posted on September 12, 2008Will Lewis over at Experience Not Logic (ENL) does an excellent job explaining a somewhat difficult but important legal concept in the international sale of goods. The concept is choice of law and the point of ENL's post, entitled, "Sales To and From China...
Obama/McCain -- The Foreign Policy Differences.
Posted on September 10, 2008Leave it to Fouad Ajami to put out the best article I have yet seen on the differences between McCain and Obama on foreign policy. Entitled, "The Foreign Policy Difference," it makes no claim as to which foreign policy framework is better, nor do I, but if you want to get to the heart of the very different ways in which McCain and Obama see America's role in the world, you should read this article...
Do You Know How Many China Employees You Have? I'll Raise You One.
Posted on September 10, 2008The other day I was searching for an email from a client named "Joe" and I came across another Joe from whom I had not heard in quite a while. So I shot the other Joe an email to ask him how his China business was going and he replied to me today by saying he was operating it in "stealth" mode but that it was going well...
Chinese Multiculturalism. Is Skin Color The Determinant?
Posted on September 10, 2008The Useless Tree has a very long, very thoughtful post on what constitutes Chinese and where China is going in terms of becoming a multicultural society. The post is entitled, "Can A Black Man Become Chinese?" and it is well worth a read....
How To Dodge The Bullets Of Opening A School In China
Posted on September 07, 2008The Middle Kingdom Life Blog (an absolute must read for anyone thinking of doing anything education related in China) has a two part series on what it takes for foreigners to open a school in China. (h/t to China Journal) This quote from a foreign school owner, cited at the beginning of the first part of the series, sums it up: "If I had known what I was in for, I would have instead shot...
China Court Dismisses First Anti-monopoly Case. That Figures.
Posted on September 07, 2008Xinhua story out today on how "The No. 1 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing on Thursday rejected an anti-monopoly case considered the first of its kind in China." (h/t to Zhongguofalu) The court dismissed the case on "procedural" grounds. It appears the ruling was based on the plaintiffs' having delayed their filing, even though the alleged wrongdoing continues...
Must Read China Post. It's So Hard To Be A Saint In The City.
Posted on September 07, 2008You have to check out Danwei's post, entitled, "It's not easy for a migrant worker in the legislature." I don't even want to tell you what it is about, because I see it being about so many things, some of which go well beyond China. You just will have to trust me that this is a must read...
Ultimate China Sourcing Guide, Part I. AND Part II.
Posted on September 06, 2008Bizcult just did a very good post setting forth the basics of how to find a China supplier. The post, entitled, "Ultimate China Sourcing Guide, Part I," very nicely analyzes the pros and cons of finding suppliers through trade fairs, online, search engines, and trade associations...
China For Business Goes Beyond Beijing And Shanghai.
Posted on September 04, 2008China Business Blog just did a post on China's best cities for foreign business, appropriately entitled, "New Cities On The Block." The post starts out discussing a recent Forbes Magazine ranking that sets out China's "Best Places in China for Business," as follows: 1...
Dudano, Mind Your China Manners. Or How To Make International Whoopee.
Posted on September 04, 2008Back before the true advent of reality TV, I used to love watching the Newlywed Game. Back in its day, that show, more than any other, evidenced the lengths to which people were willing to humiliate themselves for fifteen minutes of fame. My favorite episode was when the host, Bob Eubanks, asked the wives if they were to write a book about themselves that devoted one page to each man with whom they had made...
Steve Dickinson To Speak On China Law And Economics At China Economic Review Breakfast. Shanghai, September 26.
Posted on September 03, 2008China Law Blog's own Steve Dickinson will be the Keynote speaker at the China Economic Review Breakfast Series on Friday, September 26, at the JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square. Steve's talk will begin at 8:40 am, but the breakfast itself starts at 7:30 am...
Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin On China
Posted on September 02, 2008China Comment has a nice piece up, entititled, "China and the American Election," analyzing which side (Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin) would be better for US-China relations and concludes McCain likely would be, by a slim margin. What do you think? NOTE: Silk Road International just came out with its own advice regarding the candidates' positions on China: don't believe "anything" you hear...
China Arbitration. When, Why, Why Not, And Where.
Posted on September 01, 2008Co-blogger Steve Dickinson recently wrote a column for the China Economic Review on the plusses and minuses of arbitration provisions in contracts with Chinese companies. The article is entitled, "Overseas arbitration and enforcing contracts in China," and, not surprisingly, it says that decisions on whether to arbitrate should be made on a case by case basis...
National Security Review Under China's New Anti-Monopoly Law
Posted on August 29, 2008By Steve Dickinson China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently reported on its plans for forming an interagency committee to review the national security impacts of foreign acquisitions of Chinese companies. Contrary to many of the news reports in both English and Chinese, this is not a new policy adopted by the NDRC...
China: Where The News Is Always Good.
Posted on August 28, 2008Black and White Cat does a great job showing how China's media sanitizes foreign media articles on China, in its post entitled, "How the New York Times (should have) covered the Olympics." I am "speechless" not because I am surprised (I am not), but because the post speaks volumes all by itself...
Why To Go To China For Growth And How To Succeed At It
Posted on August 28, 2008Very good article on China Success Stories on why and how to sell and market in and to China. Article is written by Beijing-based advertising guru Dan Mintz and is entitled "Sagging Markets? Look To China: Wealthy Chinese consumers are ripe for the pitching, but approach with caution...
Tony Blair Gets It Right On China. Why Not America?
Posted on August 27, 2008England's former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today that lays out exactly how the West should deal with a resurgent China, and why. Do politicians have to retire from office to speak coherently and sensibly on foreign policy, or has Blair always been so smart? After listening to months of foreign policy pablum from Barrack Obama, John McCain and now Joe Biden (will someone please explain to...
China's Anti-Monopoly Law. People, We've Got The Rules.
Posted on August 27, 2008By Steve Dickinson On August 3, 2008, the PRC State Council released its long awaited merger notification rules: Regulation on Notification Thresholds for Concentrations of Undertakings, State Council Regulation Number 529, available online in Chinese here...
Beijing Olympic Quote Of The Day
Posted on August 26, 2008Of course this one is late, but I just heard it on The Daily Show, where Jon Stewart refers to the little girl who sang the opening night song, but whose face did not make it on TV: You thought your middle school days were tough? Imagine if your government got together and decided you were not cute...
Phillip Pan's "Out Of Mao's Shadow" Is One Great Book.
Posted on August 25, 2008"If you want to make an omelet, you must be willing to break a few eggs." Vladmir Lenin "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.." Lord Acton Phillip Pan, former Washington Post Beijing bureau chief has written a great book on China, entitled, "Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China...
Beijing Olympics Quote Of The Day
Posted on August 23, 2008This one from Steve Kelley, consistently excellent sportswriter for the Seattle Times, in an article entitled, "Usain Bolt electrifies Beijing, winning the 200 in a world-record time": If you're old enough to remember the first time you saw Muhammad Ali, the first time you saw Roberto Clemente, the first time you saw Magic Johnson, watching Bolt has that same never-seen-it-before feeling...
China Too Expensive? That Depends
Posted on August 22, 2008All Roads Lead to China has a very helpful post, entitled, "Is China No Longer Competitive?" All Roads asks the question and then proceeds to answer it in the only sensible way: it depends. The question is asked in the context of all the media reports of prices rising in China and companies fleeing because of it...
Shanghai And Beijing Maps Good Enough For Tom Cruise
Posted on August 21, 2008Mapmatrix.com has what appear to be excellent maps of Shanghai and Beijing in pdf format. (h/t to James Fallows)...
China Quality Control (QC). Who To Hire?
Posted on August 21, 2008The relatively new Quality Wars blog is looking like it will be a good source of information on quality control (QC) in China. The blog's subtitle is "The fight for quality export product in China." I especially liked two of its posts. The first, entitled, "QC?In-house vs...
Postcard From Beijing: Home Of Clean Air And Cheap Beer.
Posted on August 20, 2008Just got an email from my friend and blogger extraordinaire, Ben Ross. I thought it did a nice job encapsulating what is going on in Beijing these days and after I secured his permission to post it, here goes: Just wanted to give everybody a quick update from Beijing...
Chinese Litigation: This Is The Way (Uh Huh) We Like It
Posted on August 20, 2008By Steve Dickinson When we draft contracts in China, our foreign company clients usually instruct us to have the contract be governed by foreign law and for any disputes to be decided by arbitration, preferably outside of China. This is often a mistake...
Beijing Olympics Quote Of The Day
Posted on August 19, 2008James Fallows telling us not to worry about the plethora of "I love China" decals we are seeing on so many Chinese people's faces: History is full of examples of "rising national powers" getting the big head, feeling arrogant, and doing dangerous things...
China's 10 Worst Laws
Posted on August 19, 2008Foreign Policy Magazine is out with a fascinating and very well done list of China's 10 worst laws (damn, why didn't I think of that). (h/t to Jeremiah over at Peking Duck) I certainly agree with most of those on the list, but I hardly think it fair to put the New Property Rights Law on there...
On The Benefits Of Chinglish
Posted on August 19, 2008Very insightful post on Matt Schiavenza's blog, entitled, "Why Chinglish Exists." Post starts out with a great story on the Great Communicator (Ronald Reagan) and then explains the marketing benefits of using English, no matter how mangled: In mainland China, having English advertisements represents modernity, internationalism, and sophistication...
Qingdao Olympic Update (Live)
Posted on August 18, 2008Qingdao Olympics Report Week Two August 18, 2008 By: Steve Dickinson From: Qingdao, China We are heading into week two of the Olympic Sailing Events here in Qingdao. It is time for a short report. In order to host the Olympic sailing events, Qingdao built a modern sailing center right in the heart of the central business district...
Beijing Olympics Quote Of The Day
Posted on August 18, 2008Too good a line not to repeat. It is from a Lost Laowai post, entitled, "Beijing: Chinatown in Disneyland," reflecting on the atmosphere in Beijing during the Olympics: The Beijing people seem happy in the way that the staff at a five star hotel are happy, but not in the way that a group of old men playing mahjong in a hutong are happy...
Our Policies, Biases, And Conflicts
Posted on August 17, 2008I am a huge fan of Seth Godin's books and of his blog. His piece, "Small is the new big," is a classic. Godin is a marketing genius. On Godin's blog yestertoday, he had the following post, entitled, "Policies, biases and conflicts": I don't take advertising on this site...
Who Is Winning The Olympics?
Posted on August 17, 2008So is it gold medals that determine it or is it total medals? Should we give 3 points for a gold, 2 for a silver, and one for a bronze? And shouldn't team sports in something big-time like basketball or volleyball or even soccer count for more than an individual metal in synchronized dive wrestling? For more on this, check out James Fallows' post, "More on Chauvinism...
Global Rainmaking. What's Good For Lawyers Is Good For All.
Posted on August 17, 2008The International Lawyer Coach has an excellent post, entitled, "Global Rainmaking Tips: Pointers on Developing Clients Abroad." Though the post is geared towards international lawyers, its advice no doubt applies to nearly everyone trying to globalize their service business...
Basketball As China Metaphor: The Expanded Edition.
Posted on August 16, 2008Will Lewis over at Experience Not Logic has an interesting post up riffing on my post wondering why China cannot produce an elite point guard, nicely weaving in the David Brooks/James Fallows/John Pomfret discussion on individualism versus collectivism...
China Olympics Athlete Blog List And Why No Chinese Magic Johnson?
Posted on August 15, 2008Got an email this morning asking me why I was not writing more on the Olympics. Main reason is because I am vacationing in Pentwater, Michigan, placing me about 1800 miles from my 50" HDTV and forcing me to watch it on a 21" circa 1970s model. But, I have asked co-blogger, Steve Dickinson, who is in Qingdao right now, to give us all a report on the Olympic goings-on there...
Everything You Want To Know About China's Internet. Just Ask.
Posted on August 14, 2008Nothing new here (near as I can tell), but nice collection of facts and figures regarding China's internet can be found on Trendspotting by going here. (h/t to China Venture News)...
Is China Going Green, Part XVII: Increased Tax On Large Cars Says "Sort Of."
Posted on August 14, 2008China Environmental Law Blog has a short post, entitled, "Big Cars Face Big Tax: Fat Cats Unfazed," nicely summarizing recent changes (to become effective on September 1) to China's car tax: Cars with engines above 4-liter capacity: 40% tax Cars with engines between 3 and 4 liters: 25% tax (up from 15%) Cars with engines below 1-liter capacity: 1% tax (reduced from 3%) The stated goal is to reduce pollution and energy use...
China's Economy: The Gloom And Doom Version
Posted on August 13, 2008As regular readers well know, I am not a big fan of predictions regarding China or its economy. Their overall accuracy is too low. But I am linking over to one now, entitled, "Chinese and Starbucks Late Stage Growth Obesity," for two reasons. First, I know the author, Vitaliy Katsenelson, and he is one smart dude...
China IP: Neither Hong Kong Nor Macau Need Apply.
Posted on August 12, 2008Interesting post over at China Business Law on registering IP in Macau, got me to thinking of a company who came to me last year for assistance in pursuing trademark infringement litigation in China. As I always do in these situations, I first asked this company was whether it had actually registered its trademark in China...
Li Ning As China Law Metaphor
Posted on August 11, 2008Is it the Shoes? Is it the Shoes? Is it the Shoes? ... it's gotta be the SHOES!" -- Mars Blackmon, from Spike Lee's 1986 film, "She's Gotta Have It" Adidas pays around $80 million to be a sponsor of the Olympics and Li Ning gets to carry in the torch, figuratively burning much of that $80 million...
China Olympics: The Opening Ceremony. I Wasn't Gonna Do It.
Posted on August 09, 2008I wasn't going to do it, I swear. I had told myself not to say anything about the Olympics, figuring all those who are interested could watch it themselves, but Brendan O'Kane's post on it is just too damn funny and snarky (I am using that word for the first time on here just to seem hip) to pass up...
Is China Going Green, Part XVI -- The Olympics Are Making Green The New Black.
Posted on August 09, 2008About three years ago, I became convinced foreign environmental companies would thrive in China. But until only around six months ago, my firm's environmental clients seemed to have more regulatory problems in China than those in any other industry. Not sure why, but that seems to have changed...
China As Full Grown Dragon. This Is The New Normal.
Posted on August 09, 2008Kent Kedl over at China Business Blog and Podcast just posted a transcript of a recent podcast in which he discusses whether China has "become too expensive." The post is entitled, "China Too Expensive, It's Time to Recalibrate 'Normal'," and in it, Kedl gives the only smart answer to the question as to whether China has become too expensive: "it depends...
More Kudos To Bush On China. This Is What I'm Talkin' "Bout.
Posted on August 08, 2008Yesterday, I did a brief post extolling President Bush's "deft handling" of China and the Olympics. Seems I am not the only blogger out there similarly impressed/surprised. In "US-China Relations: George W. Bush?s uncharacteristically nuanced approach," CnReview notes the same thing and does a great job highlighting and explaining Bush's recent speeches on the topic: President George W...
China's Ignorance Is Bliss.
Posted on August 07, 2008Really excellent article by John Kamm over at the Washington Post, analyzing the reality behind the recent Pew Survey numbers on China. The article is entitled, "Blinded By the Firewall: Why the Chinese Think The World Loves China," and if you want to understand how China views itself and why, you should check it out...
Danone-Wahaha And Why You Need A Real Lawyer For China.
Posted on August 07, 2008Brad Luo over at the China Business Law Blog just posted on a recent Chinese court decision in the never-ending conflict between Wahaha and Danone. The post is entitled ?Wahaha? Ain?t French, and It Belongs to China," and it once again shows why I earlier remarked on how "we love that dispute because within it lies just about every China business or business law issue one might confront...
Beijing: "Not My Father's Skyline"
Posted on August 07, 2008Too damn funny to pass up: Today's Doonesbury on Beijing (h/t to Boulder2Beijing)...
Religion In China: The Glass Is Half Full. Bush On Foreign Policy: Even A Broken Clock....
Posted on August 07, 2008Very well done blog post over at MNBC's World blog on the current state of religion in China. The post is entitled, "Exuberance at One of Beijing's State-Sponsored Churches," and it is well worth a read. UPDATE: Just came across this China Herald post with a very interesting video setting out how the glass is still half empty...
China US Relations. Fair And Balanced.
Posted on August 04, 2008Howard French of the New York Times just came out with an exceedingly thoughtful and balanced piece on the progression of rights in China, entitled, "Despite Flaws, Rights in China Have Expanded." The content of the article tracks the title and it is well worth reading...
How To Cover The Olympics: A Reporter's Cliché Book.
Posted on August 02, 2008Simon Elegant has a great post up over at the Time China Blog, entitled, "A Reporter's Guide To Covering The Olympics." The post is a tongue in cheek guide on how to hit every cliché when reporting on China. Sadly, much of it does read almost line for line of what passes for coverage in so many Western publications...
China Manufacturing: Go With The Smell
Posted on August 02, 2008The China Business And Travel Blog has a post with some excellent tips on dealing with your China vendor. Entitled, "Vendor Evaluation (or You Can't Know Everything)," the post details a crisis in which the blogger, Blake, finds himself and then ends with what he has learned from the experience: Have a vendor management program and follow it...
China Manufacturing: Go With The Smell
Posted on August 01, 2008The China Business And Travel Blog has a post with some excellent tips on dealing with your China vendor. Entitled, "Vendor Evaluation (or You Can't Know Everything), the post details a crisis in which the blogger, Blake, finds himself and then ends with what he has learned from the experience: Have a vendor management program and follow it...
Getting To Yes In China.
Posted on August 01, 2008David Dayton from Silk Road International has published an excellent article on manufacturing in China, with eleven rules that "should be engraved on the forehead of every international purchase manager." I think many of the rules he lists have applicability, not only for manufacturing, but for all kinds of business conducted with and in China...
China's Food Business: What It Takes For Foreigners To Succeed.
Posted on July 31, 2008China Business Blog and Podcast just did a post on a CNBC television appearance this morning by Technomic Asia's Steve Ganster. Because so many of my firm's clients are in the international food business and because I see China as a tremendous market for Western food companies, Steve's analysis is of particular interest to me...
China Law Database: Where It's At.
Posted on July 31, 2008Forgotten Archipelogoes blog has a post setting out a whole slew of English and Chinese language Chinese law sites (h/t to Law Librarian Blog). I have been sending out the link to it in email responses to readers who have been asking me where they can find such and such law and I just realized I should put it up here as well...
China's New Anti Monopoly Law. A Post About Nothing Cause Nothing From Nothing Means Nothing.
Posted on July 30, 2008We must not make a scarecrow of the law, Setting it up to fear the birds of prey, And let it keep one shape, till custom make it Their perch and not their terror. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure My friend Stan Abrams over at China Hearsay posts on why he has not posted on China's new Anti-Monopoly law...
IOC And China Censorship: What A Kroc.
Posted on July 30, 2008The opposite of love is not hate, it?s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it?s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it?s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it?s indifference. Elie Wiesel When I was maybe 11 or 12, I read about Ray Kroc's founding of McDonalds...
China As Superpower. Yes Or No.
Posted on July 30, 2008I am usually not interested in trying to divine whether or not China is going to become a superpower. My lack of interest stems both from the inherent vagueness of the term "superpower" and from the fact that all such predictions are based on today's facts, rather than on some supernatural ability to predict the future...
China And Asia Digital Innovation. C2C Means More Than Just Copy To China.
Posted on July 30, 2008+8* blog (a consistently interesting Asia/China tech blog written by Benjamin Joffe) just posted on Asian internet and mobile companies seeking to go global. The post is entitled "From Asia to the world: going global in a digital world," and it describes what it will take for Asia to go "global in a digital world...
John Pomfret As China Basher? What Is A Superpower Anyway?
Posted on July 30, 2008Did a post earlier today, entitled, "China As Superpower. Yes Or No" on a "debate" between John Pomfret and China Comment regarding whether or not China will become a superpower. Got a comment to that post from Mark Anthony Jones, author of the book, Flowing Waters Never Stale, that is too long and too well thought out to remain as a comment...
China Business Visas. Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Worse.
Posted on July 29, 2008"Just when you think you've lost everything, you find out you can always lo-o-o-o-ose a little more," Bob Dylan, from "Trying to Get to Heaven (Before They Close the Door)" Financial Times is out with an article entitled, "China cuts business visas before the Olympics," detailing how Chinese business visas are going to be restricted even further for the next two months: Several of the main cities hosting the Olympics have said they will stop...
Wal-Mart Strikes Pay Deal With Chinese Union. China Law Blog Was There.
Posted on July 27, 2008Interesting Forbes Magazine article, by Matthew Kirdahy, entitled, "Wal-Mart Strikes Pay Deal With Chinese Union." Article is on Wal-Mart's having reached wage agreements with China's official union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) in Quanzhou, Shenyang and Shenzhen...
Has Your China Manufacturer Been Seized Today?
Posted on July 25, 2008A loyal reader just emailed me an Outside Blog post regarding a China government decision that will have immediate ramifications for certain companies and should give at least some other companies a little pause. The post is entitled, "China Seizes Control Of Tent Manufacturers For Quake Aid," and it is on how "the Chinese government has seized control of all Chinese-owned tent factories and existing stock" to aid in earthquake relief...
Utter Idiots and Why the United States Will Not Boycott the Beijing Olympics. By Dan Harris
Posted on July 24, 2008Okay, so I didn't really write this, but I have thought this so many times in my head that somehow my thoughts must have transferred nearly 1 to 1 to this post. The post is "Utter Idiots and Why the United States Will Not Boycott the Beijing Olympics" and with two very minor variations, it conveys my thinking, exactly...
Beijing Subway 101
Posted on July 24, 2008Leave it to CNReviews to come out with a clearly written post on how to get around Beijing using Beijing's subway. The post is entitled, "Beijing Subway Guide: of Tickets and Faregates," and it does an excellent job setting out the dos and don'ts. If I might add one "do" of my own: do use the subway system as it is oftentimes the fastest way to get around: I truly cannot think of another city...
The Chinese Like Us. They Really Really Like Us.
Posted on July 24, 2008There's a great scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carey is seeking a date with Lauren Holley: Carey: "What are my chances [of a date with you]?" Holley: "Not good." Carey: "You mean not good like one out of a hundred?" Holley: "I'd say more like one out of a million...
China's New Business Income Tax -- Online Seminar, August 7, 2008
Posted on July 23, 2008Strafford Publications, which usually gets pretty good people for its online law seminars, is putting on one entitled, "China's New Business Income Tax: Shielding Non-China Income From the Expansive Enterprise Income Tax." (h/t to AsiaBizBlog) The seminar will take place on August 7 from 1 pm to 2:40 pm, EST...
Clean Energy Guide To China
Posted on July 22, 2008The US Department of Commerce just came out with a 113 page online pdf report entitled, "Clean Energy, An Exporter's Guide to China. " (h/t to AmCham-China Daily) The Department of Commerce summarizes its report as follows: Energy demand in China is growing, and it is predicted that China will surpass the United States as the largest energy consumer soon after 2010...
Five Deserted Island China Blogs -- Just The Essentials, Ma'am.
Posted on July 21, 2008Maybe I have been watching too much Lost (all that remains is the Season 4 finale), but in response to a barrage of demand (one email suggestion around a year ago), I have decided it is time I come out with my list of the five China blogs I would want to be able to read were I to be stranded on a deserted island for the next year or two...
How Business In China Gets Done.
Posted on July 21, 2008For those who have never conducted business with China, this post will sound very strange, perhaps even unbelievable. For those who have conducted business with China, this post likely induce feelings of déjà vu. Either way, it is well worth a read because I can all but guarantee (and if I were not a lawyer, I would guarantee) every word is true, no matter how strange it all seems...
China's Olympics. Security Trumps Fun. Why Oh Why?
Posted on July 20, 2008Excellent Washington Post article on how China's increased security (including executions) may end up taking the "fun" out of the Olympics. The article is entitled, "Across China, Security Instead Of Celebration: Police Crack Down on 'Hostile Forces,' Apply New Safety Measures...
The People's Republic Of Capitalism. But I Digress.
Posted on July 19, 2008Excellent post over at the inside-out China blog on Ted Koppel's recently completed Discovery Channel show, "The People's Republic of Capitalism." The post really shines in analyzing the views of some of the Chinese nationals who spoke during the series and how those views fit in with China's history...
Promising China Blog: Mei-Zhong Guan-Xi
Posted on July 18, 2008Just came across a very interesting new blog, entitled, Mei-Zhong Guan-Xi (h/t to Danwei), which accurately describes itself as follows: Analysis and translations published by an American living in Shanghai. The goal of this site is twofold. First, through translations, allow non-Chinese speakers access to editorials in China?s domestic media in order to increase understanding of the Chinese viewpoint...
The Rules Every Foreigner Entering, Exiting Or Staying In China Must Know.
Posted on July 18, 2008HR in China has come out with an English language translation of the "Legal Guidelines For Foreigners Entering, Exiting, and Staying in China During the Olympics." and my firm's China based staff has, after a five minute review, decreed it "fairly accurate...
F-ck China Culture Lessons. Give Me Anthony Bourdain With No Reservations.
Posted on July 16, 2008Tips to Build and Manage a Guanxi Network The best way to strengthen a guanxi network is to stay connected. Send small gifts or ask for small favors to keep a relationship active. Host an occasional get-together. Remember the major Chinese holidays and send greetings...
Take That Funky Passport With You White Boy
Posted on July 14, 2008One of the things I always want to know about every foreign country to which I travel is whether I should keep my passport on my person at all times. Until around six months ago, I would have said no need regarding China, unless you are travelling between cities...
China Pre-Olympic Shutdowns. No Juice = No Product.
Posted on July 13, 2008An auto parts client called me today regarding a deal on which we are working, but quickly got off the line and did not call me back for another hour or so. He apologized and then explained. On Friday, "all" factories in Shandong province (China's second richest and second most populous province) were told to close for two to three days each week until after the Olympics...
You Saw Me Do What? Privacy In China.
Posted on July 12, 2008Two interesting articles just out on privacy in China. One, a Seoul Times article written by US trained attorney, Yuho Kim, entitled, "Data Security, Privacy in Asia," nicely compares the privacy laws of Korea, China, and Japan. The other, a Forbes article, entitled, "Who Will Be Watching You In Beijing?" discusses some of the ways China spies on foreigners and what can be done to minimize the repercussions of that...
China Corruption By The Numbers. With Your Help, Coming Soon To An Internet Near You.
Posted on July 11, 2008Received an email the other day from TRACE International asking us to plug their excellent BRIBEline website that seeks to document global corruption. The website records anonymous reporting of bribe demands: Bribeline is a secure, multi-lingual website through which companies and individuals can anonymously report the bribe demands they receive...
Staying With Friends In China: You Have 24 Hours Or You Are On The Lam.
Posted on July 09, 2008AmCham-China Daily (whom I am happy to plug because they gave me two pretty cool t-shirts) just did a post, not so grippingly entitled, "Advisory to foreign employees from chamber member company." The advisory is on the need for foreigners to register with the police within 24 hours of their arrival in China, if they are not staying in a hotel...
How To Get From Airport To Town In Beijing
Posted on July 07, 2008There are two kinds of people. Those who enjoy figuring out exactly how to get from one place to another and those who just want to know how best to get from one place to the other. David Feng of CNReviews is of the far rarer first category and he just did a post, entitled, "Beijing Capital International Airport Express(way) Guide (PEK)," setting forth how to "get from A to B ? in this case,...
Who Is Chinese? Who Is Not?
Posted on July 07, 2008Fascinating discussion over at Blogging for China on what makes one Chinese. Post is entitled, "What Does it Mean to be Chinese," and it and its 161+ comments, unflinchingly address what is required to be Chinese....
China: The People's Republic Of Capitalism
Posted on July 06, 2008Beginning Wednesday, July 9, and for four straight nights, the Discovery Channel will be running Ted Koppel's "People's Republic of Capitalism." The series will focus on China's economic growth and what this means for the United States. Much of the filiming is in Chongqing...
The CCP And China's Courts. The World Is Getting Darker.
Posted on July 06, 2008Dr. Willy Lam of the Jamestown Foundation just came out with an extremely incisive and disconcerting article on the increasing politicization of China's courts. The article is entitled, "The CCP Strengthens Control over the Judiciary," and to grossly summarize, it very convincingly argues that Hu Jintao is moving to ensure even greater political control over China's judicial system...
Putting The China Labor Law Cart Before The Horse
Posted on July 05, 2008Every month or so, a client comes to me in a panic with a "brilliant" idea for avoiding some short term problem. Examples abound: 1. One company with revenues of about $200 million a year was being sued for around $2 million by a hated competitor. The brilliant idea was to shut down the business during the slow season and reopen it as an entirely new business a month later, presumably rendering the first business...
China Versus India Versus Vietnam At A Gut Level
Posted on July 05, 2008Interesting post on This is China, entitled, "My Beer With Andre," documenting a conversation with a Fortune 500 CEO who "had just made the rounds through" China, Vietnam and India "to gain impressions of the investment environments of the countries." As This is China puts it, the CEO's "observations were gut-level, and not given to rigorous research methodologies; still, they have their uses...
How To Get What You Want From The Chinese Government, Part II. Make It Win-Win.
Posted on July 03, 2008In The Subtle Art of Lobbying the Chinese Government , Alistair Nicholas of Off The Record posted on our post on how to lobby the Chinese government. Nicholas noted something very important I left out in my post. Our post focused on who to lobby and the logistics of lobbying, but it left out what to say to get the government to go along...
Foreign Businesses In China And Illegality Per Se
Posted on July 02, 2008When I would judge mock trials at the University of Washington Law School. One of the things on which I always criticized the lawyers-to-be was for talking like a lawyer. I would ask if they described a guy getting out of a car as "a person descending from a vehicle" and before they started law school...
How To Get What You Want From The Chinese Government
Posted on July 01, 2008Well, within limits. Bizcult has an interesting post up on the basics of lobbying the Chinese government. The post is entitled, "How to Lobby the Chinese Government," and it is based on Scott Kennedy's book The Business of Lobbying in China. According to Kennedy, Chinese policy arises from three things: 1) bargaining between elite politicians and various bureaucracies, 2) expertise provided by intellectuals that include economists, lawyers and researchers in government-sponsored research institutes, 3) National...
China's New Labor Law: Results Still To Be Determined
Posted on June 30, 2008Yale Online just came out with a very thorough and objective article on China's new labor law. The article, entitled, "An Uncertain Victory for China?s Workers," is written by Lyle Morris, of China Economist Magazine. This article gives sets forth a very plausible analysis of the cost impact of the new law: Karen Lin, a senior fund manager at Paradigm Asset Management Co...
How To Get What You Want From The Chinese Government
Posted on June 30, 2008Well, within limits. Bizcult has an interesting post up on the basics of lobbying the Chinese government. The post is entitled, "How to Lobby the Chinese Government," and it is based on Scott Kennedy's book The Business of Lobbying in China. According to Kennedy, Chinese policy arises from three things: 1) bargaining between elite politicians and various bureaucracies, 2) expertise provided by intellectuals that include economists, lawyers and researchers in government-sponsored research institutes, 3) National...
Everything You Wanted To Know Nuclear Power In China
Posted on June 28, 2008Or "nucular," as President Bush calls it. China Comment (an excellent, relatively new blog) did a pretty amazing post, entitled, "China's Nuclear Power," detailing (and that is the right word) China's nuclear power industry. If you want to know about nuclear power in China, I recommend you read it...
Everything You Wanted To Know About Nuclear Power In China
Posted on June 28, 2008Or "nucular," as President Bush calls it. China Comment (an excellent, relatively new blog) did a pretty amazing post, entitled, "China's Nuclear Power," detailing (and that is the right word) China's nuclear power industry. If you want to know about nuclear power in China, I recommend you read it...
Piss Off China To Please Europe
Posted on June 27, 2008Blogging for China asks a great question in its post, "Is Fiat Too Clever?" The question posed is whether Fiat used Richard Gere (of acting and T1b*t fame) in its ad to garner publicity and EU love? All seems very plausible to me, except might not Fiat's apology itself engender EU anger? What do you think? Fiat's Gere ad, marketing genius or just plain stupid?...
China Real Estate. Does What Goes Around Come Around?
Posted on June 26, 2008When China's real estate market started heating up a few years ago, Beijing tightened the rules for foreigners buying property. I just read an interesting and quite convincing article, entitled, "Shrinking House Sales and the Fear of 'Deep Adjustment' Across China," the thesis of which is that the value of residential real property in China is declining and the tea leaves say it may well start tanking even more soon...
China's Service Sector Will Reign, Part XVII -- Pets, I Say.
Posted on June 26, 2008"Dealing with the animals was always fun, but I could no longer stand dealing with their owners." --- Explanation for retiring given to me by a retired veterinarian I know Back when we first started this blog nearly three years ago, I felt somewhat like a voice calling in the wilderness whenever we would tout how companies needed to look at China as more than just factories...
On Getting Your China Cargo/Freight/Product
Posted on June 26, 2008DHL just came out with its 4th (and probably most important) volume in its "Olympics Memo And Contingency Plan." (h/t to All Roads Lead to China). This memo does an absolutely amazing job of listing out the rules and changes applicable to cargo and freight and automobiles and trucks and ports and traffic and airports and polluting factories arising out of or relating to the Olympics...
Foreign Diplomacy, Beijing In 1974, China Business, Respek, And My Friend George H.W. Bush. It's Just Life.
Posted on June 25, 2008Tom Plate wrote an interesting column the other day, entitled, "George I: American internationalist," regarding George Bush's (the elder) stint in China as Chief US representative to Beijing. The column actually focuses on the book "The China Diary of George H...
China Banking: I Have Two Words For You.
Posted on June 25, 2008A year or so ago, I was talking with a good friend of mine who has a fairly high level position with one of the big American banks that has spent huge money buying into Chinese banks. I was saying I could not understand why American banks were so willing to put so much into China's banks, particularly when it would be impossible to achieve any sort of clarity regarding their bad loan risks...
China To Prices. "Get Real."
Posted on June 23, 2008For years, whenever someone in the United States would complain about how China was "taking our jobs," I would mention China was also subsidizing our products. That is changing rapidly. In, "Paying the China Price, The Full Price," All Roads Lead to China writes on how the real, non-subsidized, price of Chinese goods is starting to reveal itself...
Skateboarding With Chinese Characteristics
Posted on June 23, 2008Very interesting and insightful article on skateboarding in China, dude. The article is written by college junior, Jonathan Chow, and is entitled, "Skateboarding With Chinese Characteristics." Its money quote and why the article itself is important is as follows: "Forget soybeans, aircrafts, and pharmaceuticals...
Is China Going Green, Part XV -- Environmental Liability Clarified: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
Posted on June 22, 2008Very important article in today's China Daily, entitled, "Government targets land pollution to ensure food security." Far more important than the reason for this targeting is the who and what of the targeting. China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced that the "company which inherits the debts and rights (of the polluter) should shoulder the responsibility for providing financial assistance to restore the productivity of polluted land...
Suing For Access To China Government Information
Posted on June 20, 2008The Chinese Law Prof blog has a fascinating (at least for legal geeks) post on the first Beijing lawsuit to access government information under the Regulations on Open Government Information which came into effect on May 1. Such a case would have been unthinkable even five years ago and the court's accepting the filing of this case is progress...
China Investigating Microsoft For Antitrust Violations. We Don't Think So.
Posted on June 19, 2008By Steve Dickinson Both the English and the Chinese web have been rife with news of a Chinese government antitrust investigation of Microsoft's pricing of its software products. The reports initially stated the PRC State IP Office was investigating foreign software companies for selling software at higher prices in China than in their home jurisdictions...
So You Want To Save A Yuan By Moving Your China Operations To __________.
Posted on June 18, 2008Excellent article by David Dayton up on Smart China Sourcing, entitled, "China prices: Moving not necessarily a solution to rising prices." (h/t to BizCult) The article very nicely sets out some of the key things (beyond labor and real estate costs) to look at in determining where to locate your business...
Good And Evil
Posted on June 17, 2008First They Came.... One of the things that always drives me nuts is when I write something critical of China and a reader points out a similar example in the United States. Fine. It drives me even nuttier when I write something critical of China and someone writes to ask why I don't write the same sort of piece on the United States...
Global (Including China) Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies Webinar. June 19.
Posted on June 17, 2008Managing Intellectual Property Magazine will, on June 19 at noon Eastern time (US) be putting on a Free Webinar on Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies, entitled ?Global Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies: Tackling Trans-shipment Issues Using Customs and Other Enforcement Techniques...
Update On China's Visa Situation
Posted on June 15, 2008Travelpod has the most comprehensive analysis of China's present visa situation I have seen (h/t to ImageThief). It explains the current situation with respect to all sorts of China visas. If you have any questions regarding what it takes these days to secure the various types of China visas, I urge you to check it out...
How To Succeed In China Without Karaoke
Posted on June 15, 2008In "Singing a Different Song in China," the Off The Record blog convincingly argues that karaoke is not necessary to succeed in business in China and tells us how to avoid karaoke without jeopardizing one's business. The post was written to counteract a WSJ article, entitled, "With Karaoke, A Deal in China For a Song," touting the benefits of participating in karaoke...
Marketing And Selling To Chinese Businesses
Posted on June 14, 2008Matthew Harrison of B2B International China has a nice post up on China Success Stories, entitled, "Marketing and Selling to Chinese Businesses." For me, the big takeaway (and surprise) was the importance of conferences and exhibitions. Now of course I knew that China puts a big one of these on just about every week, but I did not realize how truly important they are for securing business...
Take A Time Out On Foreign Publishing In China
Posted on June 13, 2008Nearly every month some non-Chinese company comes to my law firm seeking our help in navigating the legal issues involved in publishing some sort of magazine or website in China. Their initial questions nearly always focus on WFOEs versus Rep. Offices or about bringing on Chinese staff as part owners of their planned company...
China Tech At OpenWebAsia.com
Posted on June 12, 2008When two preeminent China techno-geeks (Kaiser Kuo at Ogilvy Digital Watch and David Wolf at Silicon Hutong) tell us we should be looking to newly created OpenWebAsia.com for sources on China and Asia tech, all I can do is listen and repeat. OpenWebAsia describes itself as follows: The OpenWeb...
China And The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) -- Not Just For Americans Any More
Posted on June 11, 2008The WSJ China Journal (a really good blog we just added to our blogroll) has a post, entitled, "China?s Tricky Terrain on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," interviewing Richard Grime, an attorney with LA based mega-firm, O'Melveny & Myers. Both the interview and Grime's practice focus on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)...
China's New Labor Contract Law -- In English
Posted on June 11, 2008China Law & Practice Magazine just came out with a very good English language translation of China's new Labor Contract Law here. For more on China's new labour law, check out the following: -- "China's Proposed Labor Law:Going After Capitalists Like China, 1967" -- "China's Proposed Labor Law Causing Sucking Sounds" -- "China's New Labor Law -- It's A Huge Deal...
Tax Benefits Under China?s New Corporate Income Tax Law: Much Unfinished Business
Posted on June 10, 2008By Steve Dickinson and Andrew Grieve Since enactment of China's new Corporate Income Tax (CIT) code at the first of this year, my firm has been working with a number of high-tech (mostly software, computer hardware, environmental technology, and medical technology) companies to figure out how they can benefit from these new laws...
China's Retail Attractiveness
Posted on June 10, 2008Mega consulting firm AT Kearney just came out with its 2008 Global Retail Development Index and China came out as the fourth most attractive country, behind India, Vietnam, and Russia. The report has all kinds of fascinating statistics, rankings and graphs and I would urge anyone either in or thinking of going into international retailing to check it out...
Kung Fu Panda And A New Theory On China Counterfeiting.
Posted on June 09, 2008"When you cease to strive to understand then you will know without understanding." - Caine I have yet to see the movie Kung Fu Panda, but the always excellent How The World Works, in a post entitled, "Kung Fu Panda's Inside Joke," has just given me another reason why I should...
Sex And The Olympics. Sex And China Visas. A Beijing Brothel And The Magic 8-Ball.
Posted on June 08, 2008Josh Gartner over at Cup of Cha blog notes how a brothel near one of his favorite restaurants in Beijing recently closed, apparently as part of a governmental effort to clean things up before the Olympics. Josh assumes the brothel will be back after the Olympics, if not before, and I am guessing he will prove right on this...
How To Protect Your IP In China
Posted on June 08, 2008Danny Friedmann of IP Dragon has a great post up at the Duncan Bucknell IP blog. The post is entitled, "How to prevent and act upon intellectual property rights infringements in China" and it very nicely sets out exactly how to accomplish that. Friedmann states that intellectual property infringement is prevalent in China "and a challenge for every company in every industry" but those companies that "take adequate precautionary measures," "anticipate infringements," and "aggressively enforce...
China's Top 30 Universities
Posted on June 08, 2008CnReviews has a post that contains a ranking of China's top 30 universities by the China Academy of Management Science. 1. Tsinghua University, Beijing 2. Beijing University 3. Zhejiang University, Hanzhou, Zhejiang 4. Shanghai Jiaotong University 5. Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 6...
Confucianism as China State Ideology?
Posted on June 08, 2008Two excellent posts on Confucianism as THE ideology for China. The first, by Xujun Eberlein, writing at China Beat, is entitled, "China: Democracy, or Confucianism?" Greatly oversimplified, its thesis is, essentially, as follows: It seems typical of American thinking to regard either a republic or parliamentary democracy as absolutely the only right model for all countries...
Chinese Real Property: To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question.
Posted on June 08, 2008BizCult blog has a rather rah-rah post on why we should all be buying residential property in Beijing, essentially right now. The post is entitled, "If Not Now, Buy Property Sometime Soon," and it is based on a talk by Feng Lun, of Beijing Vantone Real Estate, at the recently completed Asia Society?s 18th Asian Corporate Conference on why "real estate will continue to be a good investment after the Olympics...
Danone/Wahaha -- China Business Lessons To Be Learned
Posted on June 07, 2008As regular readers know, China Law Blog loves the Danone-Wahaha dispute, having written the following posts on it: -- China's Joint Venture Jeopardy -- Danone v. Wahaha -- Which Of Us Is The Most China Rookie? -- Danone and China's Wahaha: A Lecture on How (Not) to Make Allies Enemies -- New York Times And Steve Dickinson On The Danone Wahaha China Dispute And On Avoiding Your Own -- Danone v...
China: Take That Tourist Visa And Shove It
Posted on June 07, 2008As we have often written, China always used to be incredibly lax about people using tourist visas to work in China. I know someone who lived in China for fifteen (15) years on nothing but tourist visas. He never once had a problem. Nobody ever once asked him why for fifteen years he had been spending about 350 days out of the year in China as a tourist...
Starting A Business In China
Posted on June 06, 2008The relatively new China Supertrends blog has an Interesting and informative post on recently increased difficulties in starting a small business in China. The blog is "the official blog and support website for Supertrends of Future China, a soon to be released book by experienced China businesspersons James K...
The Upside Of China Corruption
Posted on June 05, 2008Fascinating and insightful post over at Richard Spencer's blog, entitled, "When Corruption Works." The post posits that one of the reasons there were so many poorly constructed schools in Sichuan province is because there were so many schools and the reason there were so many schools was due, at least in part to corruption...
China's New Bankruptcy Law: Slow Train Coming
Posted on June 05, 2008By Brad Luo and Steve Dickinson On June 1, 2007, China enacted a new bankruptcy law. One year on, our report from the field indicates it is only very slowly having an influence on debtor-creditor relations. Like so many of China's newly enacted business laws, it has been slow to take hold because so much of it remains unclear due to the lack of comprehensive implementing regulations...
China's New Labor Law -- Just Deal With It.
Posted on June 04, 2008Meganshank.com has an excellent post up on China's new labor law, entitled, "Dealing With It: MNCs learn to cope with the Labor Law." Ms. Shank is a reporter with Newsweek Select (Newsweek's China Edition, not to be confused with China Newsweek) who writes her articles in Chinese...
A China Picture Worth A Thousand Words
Posted on June 04, 2008Brendan O'Kane is widely regarded as one of the brightest and best writers in the China blogosphere and I regularly check out his posts for their bon mots. Today, however, Brendan's post consists of a picture about which all I can do is repeat the by now trite phrase that a picture is worth a thousand words and urge you to go see it here...
International Debt Collection: Los Angeles, Today At Noon
Posted on June 03, 2008I will be speaking today at an International Debt Collection conference being put on jointly by the International Law Section and the Remedies Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. I will be joined on the podium by Hon. Samuel Bufford [pdf], US Bankruptcy Court, Constance Kim, Connon Wood Scheidemantle LLP, Lawrence Peitzman, Peitzman Weg & Kempinsky LLP...
Blawg Review #162
Posted on June 02, 2008I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace. Bob Dylan, Man of Peace "I am a man of peace." Kwai Chang Caine, Kung Fu, Episode 8 "Peace lies not in the world...but in the man who walks the path." Master Po, Kung Fu, Episode 8 When I took on this task of writing Blawg Review #162, I received emails expressing excitement at the idea of this blog bridging East and West, enlightening...
Chinese Factory Girls
Posted on June 01, 2008The always worthwhile China Beat has a great post up by Leslie T. Chang. Ms. Chang is a former WSJ reporter who just wrote a book called Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, due out in October. This post both previews the book and highlights the differences between writing for the Wall Street Journal and writing a book...
What Lawyers MUST Know About China
Posted on June 01, 2008I gave a talk to the Alaska Bar Association's International Law Section a couple of weeks ago. My topic was What Lawyers MUST Know About China, but if I had given it a subtitle, it would have been "the biggest mistakes foreign lawyers make when dealing with China...
China's Freedoms
Posted on June 01, 2008"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." Janis Joplin Stupid Pig's China Blog has a very interesting post, entitled, "Freedom in China," on how the Chinese typically view the meaning of freedom differently than those in the West: The west has generally perceived China to be a country without freedom...
Inside-Out China -- I'm Lovin' It
Posted on May 30, 2008Whenever I come across a really good China blog that has been around for more than a few months, I get irritated. I get irritated at myself and at those who are supposed to be assisting me on this blog for not having discovered it sooner. I also get irritated at the Chinese blogosphere for not having linked over to it...
How To Monitor Your Chinese Factory, The China Price, And QC By Motorcycle.
Posted on May 29, 2008Interesting post by Nina Ying Sun on the PN [Plastics News] China blog on the inherent difficulties inherent of monitoring your China factory. The post is entitled "Hands-on due diligence in China," and it starts out with the following quotes from an interview with Alexndra Haney, author of the book, The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage: "More than half of factories in southern China are falsifying payroll documents!" "Many even create...
Navigating China's Visa Problems And Finding A Mass Murderer
Posted on May 29, 2008Melanie Lindner over at Forbes.com did a nice article, entitled, "Navigating China's Visa Problems," on the increasing difficulty in securing a long term China visa and on the impact that is having on foreign entrepreneurs. The article starts out talking about how in the old days, all one "needed to travel in and out of China for business was a tourist visa," which enabled you to "live and run businesses in China for decades" by...
Selling Into China
Posted on May 29, 2008"Another China Trade Opportunity" By JEREMY HAFT May 19, 2008; Page A13 As the Chinese recover from the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, it's worth remembering that they can't rebuild Sichuan province alone. They need America's help. In the months to come, China's central and provincial governments will spend billions to remake hospitals, communication and power networks, roads and infrastructure, dams and water-treatment facilities, factories, schools and houses...
Time's Cover Story: China's Times, Are They A Changing?
Posted on May 28, 2008Heart of Beijing has a good post up, discussing the changes the Sichuan earthquake has brought to China and, in particular, to how China views itself and how China views how outsiders view China. The post is entitled "Time's Cover Story," and it uses Time Magazine's article, entitled, "Helping Hands," as its springboard...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About A Chinese LLM
Posted on May 28, 2008Law Professor Donald Clarke, of Chinese Law Prof Blog fame, has compiled an extremely helpful compilation of views on the pros and cons of Westerners' securing an advanced law degree, or LLM, from a Chinese law school. The compilation can be found here (h/t to China Esquire)...
China: Is That A Passport In Your Pants Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Posted on May 28, 2008When I was last in China (in April), I asked a few foreigners whether they carried their passports with them wherever they went. The typical response was that they used to not do so, but now they were trying to do so and maybe they would try even harder in the future because they were hearing of random checks...
China Earthquake's Astounding Numbers: How You Can Donate
Posted on May 28, 2008Just read a post about a Wen Jiabao interview on the Time China blog and something really hit me from that post: "sixteen million buildings destroyed." Some people can understand the Sichuan earthquake devastation through personal stories, but I am at heart a numbers guy and that number hit me right in the heart...
China Banking And Currency Exchange: Free Is One Of The Few Words I Always Understand
Posted on May 28, 2008A really good friend of mine who works at Bank of America is always touting its China solutions. He occasionally emails me beautiful brochures with beautiful graphics, presumably detailing how I can move my firm's paltry earnings between the US and China, and vice versa...
Sharon Stone's Karmic Assessment Of China
Posted on May 28, 2008The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. Bertrand Russell I was going to write a brilliant post on Sharon Stone's attributing the Sichuan earthquake to "possible" karma, but since David Wolf over at Silicon Hutong beat me to it in his post entitled, "A Perspective on 'Karma,'" I hereby fully incorporate by reference all that David said, as...
Why You MUST Have A China OEM Agreement.
Posted on May 26, 2008Woke up three weeks ago to the following email from CLB co-blogger Steve Dickinson, who is based in China. I have changed a the names and any other potential identifiers, but have retained the gist of the story. I had to wait until the "emergency" supply agreement was signed before I could go with this post...
China Earthquake Relief, Charitable Giving, Big Governments, And The Forming Of Civil Societies
Posted on May 25, 2008A few months ago, while in Seoul, Korea, I had an excellent discussion with a Korean-American friend of mine. This friend was born and grew up in the United States, but has been living in Korea for the last ten years or so. The day we met, he had seen a guy slapping around his girlfriend in broad daylight and nobody was doing anything other than watching and dialing (probably the police) on their cell...
Planned US China Flights Postponed
Posted on May 25, 2008MSNBC.com is just out with a story on United Airlines raising its fares and within that story, I have learned that both United and US Airways will not be going forward with their US to China flights as originally planned: United Airlines has sought and US Airways plans to ask for one-year delays in launching the new routes, representatives from the carriers said Thursday...
A Chengdu Personal Account
Posted on May 23, 2008My friend and fellow Grinnell alum, ?Sunny? Seong-hyon Lee emailed me the other day to express his regrets for having been out of both Beijing and Seoul (where he usually is) when I was in both cities last month. More correspondence revealed he had just returned from Chengdu...
China Visas -- Just The Facts, Ma'am
Posted on May 23, 2008The Beijinger does a stellar job setting forth the current state of China visas in its post, entitled, "China Visa ? Facts and Fiction." Highlights from the post's "What We know for sure" (i.e., "just the facts, ma'am") section are as follows: 1. L (tourist) visas require documents showing your "outbound and return flight booking and stamped (chopped) hotel reservation for the complete duration of stay...
China's New Labor Law And Why Vietnam Is No Big Thing
Posted on May 21, 2008"T'aint no big thing...." Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music I remember a time (Reagan era, I believe), when there was considerable talk about greatly reducing public television (PBS) funding here in the United States. In response to this, PBS reacted like any good bureaucracy does; it threatened to terminate that which the people found most precious...
China Earthquake Donations: Doing Good AND Pumping Up The Miles
Posted on May 20, 2008Just got an email that combines two of my favorite things: doing good and pumping up my United Airlines mileage plus account. The email is from United Airlines and it says the following: Mileage Plus customers who donate $50USD or more will receive 500 miles as a one-time bonus...
Blogging FOR China
Posted on May 19, 2008New blog out there of which CLB readers should be aware. It's called Blogging for China and it usually takes a decidedly pro-China view on most issues. Though pro-China, it is not at all ridiculously so and that means it puts forth very well reasoned and thoughtful arguments and is duly respectful of opposing viewpoints...
What Businesses Need To Know About Chinese Nationalism
Posted on May 18, 2008Excellent post on The ACF China Co - Millstone Trading blog. This blog describes itself as "a blog for Asian furniture industry professionals offering invaluable insights, comments and ramblings about importing home furnishings from China," but this post is highly relevant for any business involved with China...
China's Earthquake -- How To Help. Money And More
Posted on May 16, 2008Crossroads blog has a whole slew of posts up detailing various ways we can help Sichuan's earthquake victims, ranging from sending money to orphanages to aiding with logistics. If you want to help but are unsure as to how, read the more recent posts on this blog and pick something that matches your abilities and your desires...
China Demographics As Economics
Posted on May 15, 2008China Financial Markets (a very serious and numbers oriented China economics blog) has a fascinating post, entitled, "Demographic projections and trade implications," on the interaction between China's birth rate and age demographics and its economic and trade future...
China Earthquake Donation Guide
Posted on May 15, 2008Cn Reviews has the most comprehensive guide for donations to earthquake victims I have seen. (h/t to Black and White Cat) The post is entitled, "China Earthquake Donation Guide: 24+ ways to give," and it lists more than 24 charities involved with the China earthquake, along with descriptions and links...
China's F-Visas -- Put A Fork In Those Babies
Posted on May 15, 2008The Wall Street Journals' China Blog just did a post on China's current visa situation, entitled, "Visa Saga." The gist of it is that securing F-visas and tourist visas has gotten much more difficult and that multiple entry visas are becoming nearly extinct and the "prospects of the government easing the rules are slim...
Chengdu Blogs On The Scene Of The Earthquake
Posted on May 14, 2008Barking at the Sun blog has been online from Chengdu since August, 2007, and it has become a good source of information on the recent quake. Check it out. As I mentioned just last week, US National Public Radio (NPR) is in Chengdu (got there just in time for the quake), and it has been doing a good job blogging on events there...
China WFOEs: Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them
Posted on May 14, 2008Andrew Hupert at ChinaSolved did a post, entitled, "WOFE Managers & the Law: Know ?em, Live ?em, Love ?em," on a speech by Tim Lamb on WFOEs (Wholly Foreign Owned Entities, a/k/a Wholly Owned Foreign Entities) and on complying with Chinese law. Andrew's Cliff Notes version is "follow the law": Tim spoke for a while and covered a lot of important topics, but I?ll break down the main idea for you right now: China has...
China Getting Wise To Media: The Earthquake And Wikipedia
Posted on May 13, 2008By Steve Dickinson, from Shanghai The Chinese media response to yesterday's Sichuan Province earthquake has been unexpected. When these sorts of things happened in the 80s or the 90s or even two years ago, there was a virtual media blackout. Not true for this disaster...
How To Start Your Silicon Valleyesque Startup In China
Posted on May 12, 2008Cn Reviews, has a very informative post entitled, "AAMA Panel on 'Silicon Valley-Style' Startups in China: The Next Wave," on getting a startup going in China. The post is on a recent Asia American MultiTechnology Association dinner where a number of clearly qualified people spoke on China startup information...
China By The Numbers.
Posted on May 12, 2008Uber reporter Tim Johnson over at his perennially superb China Rises Blog has a post up entitled, "China By The Numbers," which consists nearly entirely of a list of interesting numbers from this Independent article highlighting China's rapid change. Both the post and the full article are well worth a read, particularly if you are a numbers geek like me...
China's Earthquake: How You Can Help
Posted on May 12, 2008Shanghaiist just posted on how you can help the victims of China's recent earthquake. Here's the info, straight from Shanghaiist: For those who are looking to contribute to current aid efforts underway, you can now donate money to the Red Cross Society of China which has formed a disaster relief working group to be dispatched to the earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County in Sichuan...
China's New Labor Contract Law -- Clarifications A Comin'
Posted on May 12, 2008By Andrew Grieve and Steve Dickinson (Andrew is a paralegal with Harris & Moure who is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin). The Labor Contract Law continues to generate much controversy in China. As is typical of Chinese statutes, the law is unclear on many key issues...
China Statistics. Lies And Damn Lies.
Posted on May 11, 2008Excellent post up by my friend Jeremy Gordon over at China Business Services. Post is entitled, "Statistics That Don't Add Up," and it is on the notorious unreliability of Chinese economic statistics. Where it excels is in breaking down and recalculating the numbers and in giving us a Goldman Sachs roadmap on determining reliability...
China's Environment From The Inside
Posted on May 11, 2008US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) did a pretty good (though somewhat bombastic as is PBS's wont) series a while back, entitled, "China From the Inside." For those of you who did not have access to it or missed it, All Roads Lead to China just put up (via YouTube) the episode on China's environment...
China Factories In Real Life
Posted on May 09, 2008This Washington Monthly article, entitled, "Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector" does a really good job conveying what really goes on in China's factories. (h/t to All Roads Lead to China) I admit to having spent very little time in Chinese factories, but this article certainly jibes with what I have been told by those who have and with what I have read on the subject...
90 Minutes From Shanghai To Paris (Ningbo)
Posted on May 09, 2008Well, not quite, but the Shanghai to Ningbo bridge is the world's longest cross-sea span and it cuts the drive from Shanghai to Ningbo from 400 km to 80km. CLB's own Steve Dickinson just returned from Ningbo, having travelled there from Shanghai to meet with a client who is setting up a manufacturing plant there...
China's Visa Situation. Now Clear As Mud.
Posted on May 09, 2008The Yuan Also Rises blog has a nice post up on China's current visa situation (at least as of this week). The post is entitled "Clear as Mud," and, among other things, it notes of reports that China visas may be easier to obtain in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand than in England and Hong Kong...
China's Environmental Laws -- A Legal Leap Forward
Posted on May 09, 2008China Daily has an article that nicely summarizes the evolution of China's environmental laws, entitled, "A Legal Leap Forward." Makes for a good primer on the basics. (h/t to The Green Leap Forward)....
Dude, Don't Be Messin' With The Shoes And It Ain't Just China.
Posted on May 08, 2008When growing up, I played basketball 2-7 hours a day, year round. That meant a lot of basketball shoes. The shoes were everything. The shoes told people how you thought of yourself and they influenced how others thought of you. Like everyone else of my era, I started out with Converse All Stars because I had no choice...
China Private Equity/Venture Capital From People Who Know.
Posted on May 08, 2008Project Alpha just posted the transcript from a very enlightening panel discussion on private equity/venture capital in China. The discussion was at JP Morgan's recent China conference in Beijing. I attended this discussion and found it very informative...
The Impact Of China's New Labor Contract Law
Posted on May 08, 2008Very good Washington Post article by very good WaPo reporter Ariana Eunjung Cha on the impact of China's new labor contract law. The article is entitled "New Law Gives Chinese Workers Power, Gives Businesses Nightmares" and it presents a fair and balanced view of what this new law is doing to the employer-employee relationship in China...
The Oracle Of Omaha On China. Well, Not Exactly.
Posted on May 07, 2008I feel almost compelled to pass on some of the gems Warren Buffet (an apparent hero to the Chinese as well) voiced at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting the other day. They are that good. ?Contemplating any business act, an employee should ask himself whether he would be willing to see it immediately described by an informed and critical reporter on the front page of his local paper ? there to read by his spouse, children,...
Absolutely Everything I Know About Teaching English In China. The Whole Unvarnished Enchilada.
Posted on May 07, 2008Every so often I will get an email from an English teacher in China who is owed money by the school for which he works. Typically the letter will state the case and then ask "do I have a case." I nearly always answer by saying that "based on the facts you have conveyed to me, it certainly does sound as though you have a case," but you really need to ask yourself whether it...
China As Olympics PR Maestros
Posted on May 07, 2008Kevin Brown has a post up on the OpenDemocracy site that is either brilliant or completely tongue in cheek and I am too dense to tell which. Anyway, the post is entitled, "China's Olympics -- the lull after the storm," and it posits that China has been doing a heckuva good job with Olympics public relations by following the basic PR rule of getting the bad news out first...
In Creating A Legal System For A Market Economy, China Must Mind The Gaps.
Posted on May 06, 2008Professor Donald C. Clarke of George Washington University Law School (a former law school professor of CLB's own Steve Dickinson and the prof behind the Chinese Law Prof Blog) recently had his paper published, entitled, "China: Creating a Legal System for a Market Economy...
Lawyer Ethics With Chinese Characteristics. It Matters.
Posted on May 06, 2008Second year SMU law student, Jing "Brad" Luo, recently had an article of his on China lawyer ethics published in China Law & Practice Magazine. A law student getting an article published in such a prestigious magazine (in his second language, no less) is really quite a feat...
China Visa Hell, Chapter 27
Posted on May 06, 2008Kyle over at BizCult has posted on what is becoming a much more frequent occurrence in China: an encounter with the police over a visa issue. The post is entitled "You Are Big Brother's Keeper" and it starts out with what we lawyers call "factual background...
NPR's All Things Considered Doing Chengdu -- May 19-23
Posted on May 06, 2008National Public Radio's All Things Considered Show will be broadcasting from Chengdu, China, from May 19 through May 23. (h/t to Barking At The Sun, which is itself based in Chengdu). For years, my firm had been getting calls from software companies looking to go into Chengdu, but almost without exception, none of them did...
China Deflation: We Hardly Knew You.
Posted on May 05, 2008The Economist Free Exchange has a post, entitled, "Fondly Remembering a Deflationary China," (h/t to Experience Not Logic) on how China has moved from being a deflationary force to an inflationary one. At JPMorgan's recently completed China Conference in Beijing, one of the best speakers I saw was James Kynge, of China Shakes the World Fame, whose talk was on how China had moved from deflation to inflation and how that would impact the rest...
China's New Labor Law As Plague On All Employers' Houses.
Posted on May 05, 2008As regular CLB readers know, I have been repeatedly preaching (right word) for some time about the massive impacts to expect from China's new labor contract law, which went into effect just this year. My consistent theme has been that disgruntled employees represented by Chinese litigators ready to pounce will bring an ill wind to all employers in China...
China Visa As Endangered Species.
Posted on May 05, 2008Uber-reliable Danwei just did a post on the current situation (or at least word on the current situation) involving China visas. The post is entitled, China Visa Confusion, but, unfortunately, the post itself is quite clear: getting a Chinese visa of any kind between now and October is going to be extremely tough...
China Contracts: To Arbitrate Or Not To Arbitrate, That Is The Question.
Posted on May 04, 2008Though I got a bit of grief for saying it before, I will say it again, arbitration clauses fascinate me. As I said in a previous post on this topic, entitled, "So Ya Say You Wanna China Arbitration, Well You Know": I can nearly always judge the legal thought that went into an agreement through its arbitration/litigation provision alone...
Hillary, Barrack And McCain On Global Trade. The Reality Beats The Rhetoric.
Posted on May 04, 2008Craig Maginness at the Going Global Blog has an extremely thoughtful post up analyzing the global trade positions of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barrack Obama, entitled, "Presidential Primary Edition -- The Candidates, the Parties and Their Positions on Global Trade...
China Versus Thailand: Outsourcing Smackdown
Posted on May 04, 2008David Dayton over at the consistently enlightening Silk Road International Blog did an interesting post comparing China to Thailand for manufacturing, entitled, "Thailand vs. China." David is eminently qualified to make this comparison because his Master's Degree focused on "Comparative Chinese and Thai Corporate Cultures," he is fluent in both Thai and Mandarin, and has spent considerable time doing business in both places...
China's "Freedom Of Information" Act Just Enacted. Blink And You May Miss It.
Posted on May 04, 2008The Australian has an article on China's just enacted Information Disclosure Act, entitled "Chinese FOI act tied by red tape." The purpose of this Act is to improve governance, not to grant citizens any sort of right to know: Despite this, Dr Cheng [Cheng Jie is a constitutional law professor at Qinghua University in Beijing] believes the new disclosure regulation, promulgated by China's State Council, or cabinet, and eight years in the making, does mark...
China Visa Update
Posted on May 03, 2008The One Eyed Panda attended AmCham's very recent seminar on China visas and he left with a whole slew of good notes. So if you are wondering about the latest regarding China visas, I urge you to go his post, China Visa Update as it is very helpful....
Defending China's English Language Press
Posted on May 03, 2008Last week on a Shandong Airlines flight, I overheard someone in the seat behind me say something to his fellow traveler along the lines of the following, in reference to a front page headline in the China Daily (I think): "'Chinese people's feelings hurt by foreign media...
China Public Relations: The ImageThief Primer
Posted on May 03, 2008When it comes to China PR, if Will Moss over at ImageThief says it, I view it as gospel [definition number 4 in the link]. In a recent post, entitled, "Inside Carrefour's crisis management in China," Will sets out the gospel on"some of the basic rules of crisis communication for foreign firms in China": Be prepared to respond fast...
China v. Cafferty: CNN Should Get Up In Someone's Grill
Posted on May 03, 2008Chinese Law Prof has a post up on the two lawsuits (did I just hear of a third one out there) filed in China against CNN for Jack Cafferty's "thugs and goons" comment. The post is entitled, "CNN sued for Cafferty's 'thugs and goons' comment," and in it, Chinese Law Prof analyzes the merits of the claims under Chinese (some) and US law (none)...
China: The CIA Gets It.
Posted on May 03, 2008General Michael V. Hayden, Director of the CIA, gave a speech this week at Kansas State University, on, among other things, China's future relationship with the United States. Hayden had this to say: China, a communist-led, nuclear state that aspires to?and will likely achieve?great power status during this century, will be the focus of U...
China Food Exports To Japan Plunge On Quality Concerns. Isolated Case Or Trend?
Posted on May 03, 2008While in Qingdao the other day, I went out for a sushi dinner with co-blogger Steve Dickinson and a long time Japanese fishing industry client in Qingdao on business. Steve had been to this same restaurant a few months earlier and raved about the food...
Hey Hillary, It's NOT China. But You Know That.
Posted on May 03, 2008I admit it. I love Hillary. The more she lies, the more she attacks, the more she says things just to get elected, the more she just flat out refuses to give up, the more I think she is exactly what this country needs. I am NOT kidding. Hillary does not believe the crap she is spewing and she would never let herself be bound by it once she becomes President...
Regulating Enterprise In China/China Dispute Resolution
Posted on May 03, 2008The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society has come out with a report (free online here) entitled, Regulating Enterprise: The Regulatory Impact on Doing Business in China. (h/t to AsiaBizBlog) The report is described as follows: This special report adopts an interdisciplinary, socio-legal approach to reveal the actual encounter between law and the social environment, exploring problems of implementation, and the implications for China?s future policy initiatives and economic development...
Is China Going Green, Part XIV -- Leading Shanghai Environmental Lawyer Proves It Is
Posted on May 02, 2008Charlie McElwee of the China Environmental Law Blog did an interesting post analyzing a Xinhua article on increased enforcement of China's environmental laws and on Chinese companies' growing realization that going green means making more green. Though Charles is an environmental lawyer based in Shanghai, unfortunately, he does not provide his own assessment on these issues...
Foreign Companies In China Can't Get No Love
Posted on May 01, 2008Rich Brubaker over at All Roads Lead to China has a post up on how the Chinese government makes its laws with its own populace in mind, not out of consideration for foreign companies. The post is entitled, "Regulations in China: Are You Prepared? Are You Ready? Are You OK?" and here is its money quote: There is and has been a sense of entitlement in the foreign community about their contribution to China, and...
China's Inner Mongolia Is On The Frontier Of....
Posted on May 01, 2008My roommate from college sent me an email with the subject "Ordos" and the tagline, "this is wild." It is. The "it" is a New York Times article, entitled, "In Inner Mongolia, Pushing Architecture?s Outer Limits," on the Inner Mongolian boomtown of Ordos...
China By Podcast
Posted on April 29, 2008Go ahead and call me a Luddite, but I generally am not a big fan of podcasts because they take too long. We lawyers can read (or skim) documents at a much faster speed than mere mortals. Podcasts take away that edge. But for those who like podcasts.....
China Terror Alert
Posted on April 29, 2008The US embassy in Beijing issued the following email travel alert for all US residents and visitors in China (h/t to AmCham Daily): There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within China in the near future. In light of these security concerns, citizens traveling in China are advised to use caution and to be alert to their surroundings at all times, including at hotels, in restaurants, on public transportation and...
China Visa Certainty: Z (employee) Visas Are Z Best
Posted on April 27, 2008Got a worried call the other day from a China based foreign businessperson complaining about being forced to return to his home country because his China tourist visa was about to run out. Not only was he mad about being unable to renew his visa from within China or even by jumping over to Hong Kong, but he knew his chances of getting a new multiple entry visa were extremely low...
How To Retain Your Star China Employees
Posted on April 26, 2008Anyone with a business in China knows how difficult it is to retain Chinese high level Chinese employees. Rapidly rising salaries are obviously factor into this difficulty, but according to Andrew Hupert at ChinaSolved, a China retention policy must consist of more than "just dumping cash, bonuses and big commission payouts on star employees...
Understanding Made In China: April 28, 2008 In NYC
Posted on April 25, 2008On Monday, April 28, 2008, The Asia Society is putting on a China speaking event, entitled, "Product Safety: Understanding the 'Made in China' Brand" This will be from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm at the Asia Society and Museum, 8th Floor, 725 Park Avenue, New York City...
China Using Its VAT To Highgrade Manufacturing
Posted on April 24, 2008The China Economic Review is just out with an article by CLB's own Steve Dickinson on the wholesale changes China has made to its VAT (Value Added Tax) system. The article is entitled, "VAT?s all folks: How changes in the tax system reflect an evolving approach to foreign investment...
Beijing International Terminal 3 And The Quality Of Chinese Products. What's Up With That?
Posted on April 22, 2008http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/2008/04/heathrow_terminal_5_update_onl.htmlJust arrived Beijing a few hours ago. Came in via the new Terminal 3. Here is what I was thinking from the time I arrived to the time I unbelievably quickly cleared customs: -- It's huge -- It's huge -- It's so incredibly big -- It's awesome -- It's huge Co-blogger Steve Dickinson arrived Beijing from Shanghai around 20 minutes before I got here from Seoul and I called him to figure out where to...
China Law As Guessing Game
Posted on April 19, 2008Stan Abrams over at China Hearsay did a great post, detailing the difficulties of uncertainty in dealing with Chinese law. The post is entitled, "The Law and New Tech in China," but the issue it raises regarding the gaps in China's commercial laws goes well beyond just new technologies...
China IP? The Answer Is Better Luck Next Time.
Posted on April 17, 2008David Dayton of the always excellent Silk Road International Blog just did a post, entitled, "Show Questions," on some of the questions he was asked as a speaker at the Global Sources Buyers Show now going on in Hong Kong. My favorite interaction was the following: Finally, I had a very nice conversation at the ?Ask the Experts? Q&A Sessions yesterday with a rather worried new buyer...
China Is Making Visas Interesting.
Posted on April 16, 2008Visas have always bored me. Sorry about that, but they have. A law school education is rarely needed to figure out visa issues and I did not go to law school for that. I have always taken a rather perverse pride in not keeping up on visa requirements...
Chinese Joint Ventures -- The Information The Chinese Government Does Not Want You To Know
Posted on April 15, 2008Until a couple of months ago, co-blogger Steve Dickinson was the legal columnist for one of China's most prominent English language business publications. As part of his regular monthly gig, Steve submitted an article on how to avoid joint venture mistakes...
China US Tax Treaty Explained
Posted on April 14, 2008Nobody should dabble in international tax. It is hugely complicated, and should be handled only by attorneys and accountants who specialize in it. Incredibly few do. Gary Tober here in Seattle is one who does and he has a great reputation. All of this is a preface for the fact that a reader just emailed me a copy of an article on the US-China tax treaty and asked me if "this guy Tober knows what...
Beijing Olympics Blog: Specialty Blog Worth Reading
Posted on April 11, 2008Until a few weeks ago, I actually thought there was little need for a blog focused solely on the upcoming Olympics. Silly me. For those seeking a one stop blog on China's Olympics, I heartily recommend the Beijing Olympics Blog, which describes itself as "An unofficial look at China & the Beijing Olympic Games...
China: Fair And Balanced
Posted on April 10, 2008You want to know the reality about the continuing evolution of human rights in China? Go here. On a somewhat unrelated note. I keep meaning to do a list of ten blogs I would "take" with me were I to learn I am going to be stranded on a...
CLB About To Go On BBC's World Have Your Say
Posted on April 10, 2008Just got the call this morning and I will be live on air in about three minutes. The question is whether your leader (in my case, President Bush) should go to the Olympic opening ceremony. My answer will be yes. I say yes because I want the US to be on good terms with China because I see Iran, North Korea, and Al Qaeda as the real threats and we could use some friends in...
The Protests, The Olympics, And The Yellow Peril.
Posted on April 10, 2008There is so much great stuff out there on the Olympics; I could devote the next few months to nothing but that on this blog. Though I have studiously sought to avoid covering these issues too often, I could not resist saying something about this post on Shanghai Scrap, entitled, "The Protests, the Olympics, and Race...
Ten Reasons China Matters
Posted on April 09, 2008I hate the title, "Ten Reasons Why China Matters to You," and I also think some of the ten were tossed out just to get to ten. But because Thomas P.M. Barnett is one of the best international strategists out there, and because the analysis behind the items is so good, I am recommending you check out this list on Good Magazine (h/t to Thomas P...
Doing Business in China: The Labor And Employment Law Story. Is That Elliott Spitzer?
Posted on April 09, 2008On May 9, 2008, The Center for Labor and Employment Law at New York University (NYU) will be putting on what looks to be an excellent seminar on China's new labor contract law. The seminar will take place in Pollack Colloquium, Ninth Floor, Furman Hall, NYU School of Law, 245 Sullivan Street...
China's Olympics: What's Reality Got To Do With It?
Posted on April 08, 2008As a huge fan of John Pomfret, based on his excellent book, Chinese Lessons (for my review of that book, go to my post not so subtly entitled, "John Pomfret's Chinese Lessons -- LOVED IT!"), I was happy to learn from Danwei that Pomfret is just starting a blog on China for the Washington Post...
Jury Nullification With Chinese Characteristics
Posted on April 08, 2008Stan Abrams of the always excellent China Hearsay blog just posted on the decision of a Guangzhou court to dramatically reduce a previous verdict of life imprisonment to a five-year jail term for a person convicted of stealing money from a bank by taking advantage of a malfunctioning ATM machine...
Sun Bin Has Been There (In Western China) So Read His Blog
Posted on April 08, 2008The force behind the Sun Bin blog has been to the big city in T1be*t and he is putting up some very good writing on his trip. Not that I should have to say this, but on this topic I fear I do, but my saying he has some very good writing does not mean I agree or disagree with any particular percentage of it, just that I find it thoughtful and informative...
China's New Labor Law Means Tenure For Everybody
Posted on April 07, 2008SFO Airport Tomokazu Sushi Restaurant 7:52 pm PST Dinner Before My Next Flight Just came across this podcast interview with CLB's own Steve Dickinson on the always superlative Danwei blog. The post is entitled, "China Businesscast: China's new labor law, everybody gets tenure" and it provides the following executive summary (which is good because my next plane takes off in twenty minutes and I have no time to listen: The [new China labor] law was...
The Future And The Past For China Manufacturing
Posted on April 05, 2008Joe Nocera of the New York Times just did an article, entitled, "Seeing the Sights of Industrial China: 2 Factories, 2 Futures," contrasting a textile factory with a manufacturer of silicon wafers for use in solar panels. The textile manufacturer is sinking fast due to the rising Yuan, rising labor costs, and China's policy of "moving up the value chain...
Yuan/Dollar Exchange Rates
Posted on April 04, 2008My knowledge of currency hedging is based mostly on the following: 1. I am right now wearing a Swiss watch I bought in Korea at the height of the 1997 Asian crash. When I bought it, I was getting about 2000 Korean Won to the Dollar and Korea's economy was in such bad shape, the Jeweler sold it to me for half the regular Won price...
Everything You Want To Know About China Wages. Jumbled Government Style.
Posted on April 03, 2008Xinhua article just out on rapidly (I think) increasing salaries in China. This article, entitled, "Average salary increase of urban workers rises to six-year high," contains many salary numbers and statistics, but it is so vague both with the numbers and with the writing that I cannot parse out its highlights...
China: Go To Make Money, Not Just Products.
Posted on April 03, 2008Got an email yesterday from Shaun Rein, a leading expert in China markets and marketing. Shaun's email described an article he wrote for Business Week based in large part on a survey recently conducted by Shaun's Shanghai based company, China Market Research Group...
China's Interior Is Missing Some Parts
Posted on April 03, 2008A couple years ago, I attended an incredibly bad China seminar in Seattle (one of the speakers got me in for almost nothing and I really needed the CLE credits) at which one of the speakers essentially told everyone to locate in Chongqing. His rationale (replete with way too many pictures of him smiling and eating with purported high level government officials) seemed to have been based on the following: 1...
China's Retail Reality
Posted on April 02, 2008Great post up over at Jeremy Gordon's China Business Services Blog on the reality Best Buy has been facing in trying to bring its retail concept into China. If you are thinking of bringing your retail business into China, read Jeremy's post, entitled, "Retail Reality...
Beijing As Second Hand Smoke
Posted on March 31, 2008I make it a point to leave it to others to write about air pollution in China from a non-legal perspective, but this one from the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 Blog is just too good to pass up. Seems those who say breathing Beijing air is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day are exaggerating, it is actually like living with someone who smokes a pack a day: The magazine ?that?s Beijing? interviewed Dr...
Getting To And Around Shanghai Pudong International AIrport's Terminal 2
Posted on March 31, 2008CN Reviews has a great summary on getting to and from Pudong's Airport's new terminal and on going between the terminals. Very useful....
Beijing: Condoms Not Evidence Of Prostitution And Whoring
Posted on March 31, 2008Xinhua just reports that, in an effort to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, Beijing's municipal government is making condoms "more accessible in its hotels, nightclubs and construction sites[???]:" Guesthouses, hotels and scenic resorts are all required to put condoms in toilets, and night clubs, bathing centers and major construction sites should have condom-selling vendors installed...
China Children Getting All Stressed Out
Posted on March 31, 2008All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Check out this article in the China Daily, entitled, "http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2008-02/15/content_6458887.htmMental Health Master Plan," on the stress China's children face from parents who want them studying constantly and reading only that which is prescribed by adults (h/t One-Eyed Panda's Journal)...
China Products: Quality Costs Extra
Posted on March 30, 2008Paul Midler's always excellent China Games blog just did an interesting post, entitled, "Survey: Testing Affects Price," on the correlation between price and quality in China. The post is on how prices quoted for Williams Loft, a distributor of mattress products, rose after Williams Loft made clear it would be verifying quality: The company [Williams Loft] sent out requests for quotation (RFQ) to twelve suppliers in China...
China As IP Paradise
Posted on March 30, 2008A loyal reader just sent me an email asking me what I think of a China Daily article, entitled, "Courts see surge of foreign-related IPR cases." I think the article is a good reflection of what is really going on in the world of China IP. The article has the usual Chinese government induced fluff on how China is doing this or that to protect intellectual property, but it also includes some very telling numbers:...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Chinese Consumers
Posted on March 30, 2008Though I know very little about marketing (and even less about marketing to China's consumers), I know enough to know that Mastercard's "Brand Preference of the Chinese Affluent"[pdf] is chock full of helpful information and -- by extention -- great insight into the Chinese consumer...
Beijing As Second Hand Smoke
Posted on March 30, 2008I make it a point to leave it to others to write about air pollution in China from a non-legal perspective, but this one from the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 Blog is just too good to pass up. Seems those who say breathing Beijing air is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a day are exaggerating, it is actually like living with someone who smokes a pack a day: The magazine ???that???s Beijing??? interviewed Dr...
Getting To And Around Shanghai Pudong International AIrport's Terminal 2
Posted on March 30, 2008CN Reviews has a great summary on getting to and from Pudong's Airport's new terminal and on going between the terminals. Very useful....
Made In China: Es Tu Zegna?
Posted on March 29, 2008The Wall Street Journal has a story out today that reinforces my contention that while low end manufacturing (what I call rubber ducky type products) is declining in China, higher end manufacturing is booming (see my posts here and here) The story is entitled, "China's Challenge to Italy Now, a Rival to European High-End Suits," and it talks about how China is starting to make high end suits for men...
China Counterfeiting. Just One Among 1.3 Billion.
Posted on March 29, 2008The PN China Blog poste on counterfeiting and poor quality products in China. The post is entitled, "A Monumental Blacklist" and it discusses why Chinese companies so frequently and confidently engage in unfair business practices (including counterfeiting) and what needs to be done to stop it...
China Suburbanization Writ Large
Posted on March 29, 2008Time Magazine's Shanghai correspondent, Bill Powell, (also of Time's China Blog) did a great story, entitled, "The Short March," on his family's move to a Shanghai suburb (h/t to The Yuan Also Rises). Good article on the suburbanization of China, but even better article on how growth affects China and on why continued growth is so necessary...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Chinese Consumers
Posted on March 29, 2008Though I know very little about marketing (and even less about marketing to China's consumers), I know enough to know that Mastercard's "Brand Preference of the Chinese Affluent"[pdf] is chock full of helpful information and -- by extention -- great insight into the Chinese consumer...
China HR = Worldwide HR.
Posted on March 28, 2008Veteran China hand, David Dayton, of Silk Road International, did a post a while back on the effectiveness of international management practices in China. The post is based on an article on Phys.org, entitled, "Multinationals in emerging China should stick to their own ways of managing," and subtitled, "When it comes to breaking into the lucrative Chinese market, foreign multinational retailers should keep largely to their own, time-tested management techniques, according to new research funded...
Chinese Law Is Not An Ass, At Least For Western Companies.
Posted on March 28, 2008The Off The Record Blog (a really good blog, BTW) just did a short, sweet, blunt post on the law in China that is only half right. The post is entitled, the "The Law is an ass and there you have it." It consists of the following quote from "a prominent Chinese lawyer during a private discussion about China?s new Labor Law": ?The problem with Western companies in China is that you think laws are...
China Business/Investment Law And Child Rearing: A Lot Of Gray
Posted on March 28, 2008China Vortex did an interesting post on how foreign companies do and should react to Chinese laws. The post is entitled, "Working the Gray Areas in China," and it starts out quoting "Chinese entrepreneurs" saying that if they were to wait until the Chinese government said they could do something, they would never be able to make money...
China: Arbitrage, Capitalism, And Cabbage. Happy Days Are Here Again.
Posted on March 27, 2008How to Solve Inflation 101 (h/t to Shanghaiist)....
China Manufacturing Moving To Madagascar
Posted on March 27, 2008Earlier today, I posted on how China is still the place to manufacture all but the lowest end products. That post is entitled, "Goodbye China. Good Morning Vietnam. I Don't Think So, Part II." As is par for the course on this blog, I received a number of excellent comments...
Goodbye China. Good Morning Vietnam. I Don't Think So, Part II
Posted on March 27, 2008Experience Not Logic has a nice post, entitled, "China's Manufacturing Competitiveness Is at Risk": Sort Of," on the recently published Booz Allen/AmCham Manufacturing Competitiveness report, somewhat wrongly titled, "New Challenges for Foreign Producers: 'China's Manufacturing Competitiveness Is at Risk...
Returning Substandard Products To Your China Factory: In Another Lifetime, Brother.
Posted on March 25, 2008David Dayton at Silk Road International Blog did a post on a topic near and dear to my heart, "Returning Products to a Factory in China" (h/t to Source Juice). I deal with this issue quite often when Western companies seek my law firm's assistance in securing a refund for bad product from a Chinese company that is not budging...
China M&A Done Right
Posted on March 25, 2008Nothing earth shattering or even new in this article, but "Dealmaking in China: Getting In on the Action," by George D. Martin at Faegre & Benson LLP and Dave Sampsell, associate general counsel at ADC Telecommunications, Inc., does an excellent job setting out where mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be going in China and on the basics of doing one...
Managing The Dragon: More To Know. More to Learn.
Posted on March 24, 2008Paul Denlinger (of China Vortex) just did a guest review of the book, Managing the Dragon, on Lost Loawai, which book I glowingly reviewed last week, in my post, "Managing The Dragon. The Best, Jerry. The Best." Paul provides some excellent insights on the book that are very much applicable to doing business in China today...
The Dirt Under The Fingernails Of "Modern" China
Posted on March 23, 2008Brilliant and insightful (two different words that still seem redundant) piece by Robert Kagan on how despite its gloss of modernity, entitled, "Behind the 'Modern' China." (h/t to China Digital) China is still rife with "19th-century" ideas: China can go for great stretches these days looking like the model of a postmodern, 21st-century power...
Beijing Olympics -- You Want Jail Time With That?
Posted on March 23, 2008The Absurdity Allegory and China (AAC) blog makes an excellent legal point in its recent post, "Breaking Eggs in the Bird's Nest." The post is on a March 21, 2008 State Department fact sheet concerning the 2008 Olympics. This fact sheet has received its fair share of coverage from the blogosphere for warning visitors to beware of crime in China and telling them not to expect privacy from the Chinese government (here, here, here, here,...
World Sneezes: China Avoids A Cold
Posted on March 22, 2008Interesting article in Business Week (h/t to China Challenges) entitled, "World Sneezes, China's Just Fine: Economists say a global slowdown will largely spare a mainland economy still based on domestic consumption and cushioned by vast cash reserves...
China And US Agree: Let's Kill All The Lawyers.
Posted on March 21, 2008"Let's kill all the lawyers." William Shakespeare. Okay, so we lawyers are not the most loved people in the world, though US surveys consistently show that though the overwhelming majority of people dislike lawyers, they overwhelmingly like their own lawyers...
Expectations Of And From China
Posted on March 20, 2008ImageThief seems to have recovered fully from a recent bout of spousal childbirth and has been churning out great post after great post of late, rising today to the level of profundity in analyzing the gulf of expectations surrounding the upcoming Olympics: This extremely gloomy scenario made me think a little about the vast gulf between foreign and Chinese expectations for what the Beijing Olympics would accomplish...
Managing The Dragon. The Best, Jerry. The Best.
Posted on March 20, 2008I gave a talk last week at the Plastics News Executive Forum in Tampa, Florida as one of three on a China panel. Jim Walter, Senior VP - Worldwide Product Integrity at Mattel, led off with a fascinating and informative talk on how he spent his summer vacation...
China Sex, Prostitutes, Rule of Law, Lines of Power, Unintended Consequences and Bull Connor: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words. Redux
Posted on March 20, 2008I made a rule for myself many years ago that whenever I was too in love with something I wrote, I needed to run it by someone else. I made this rule because usually when I fall in love with my own writing, it is because I think it is just SO clever. Yet, one person's clever so easily be another person's smarminess or cruel biting sarcasm...
Crime In China: BS Upon BS
Posted on March 20, 2008The Modern Lei Fang blog just did a post, entitled, Crime in China (Alternative Title: I call Bullshit!)" excoriating the Associated Press for "piling it on against China." Lei Fang is angry at an AP article, "Foreigners Grapple With Crime in China," which he rightfully considers fear mongering...
Clissold v. McGregor In China Business Smackdown.
Posted on March 19, 2008Bizcult has a post up, entitled, "Old China Hands Face Off in Knowledge Duel", highlighting the following nuggets from a podcast of James McGregor (One Billion Customers) and Tim Clissold (Mr. China): Read the Five Year Plan. The government gives you ?a diagram every five years on what they care about,? Mr...
Blogging On China Law And Business In Difficult Times
Posted on March 17, 2008I have been feeling somewhat irrelevant lately. Really big things are happening in China and I clearly see the incongruity (absurdity?) of my continuing to chug away on posts relating to joint ventures, intellectual property, and how the rule of law is rising in China...
Steve Dickinson On China Joint Ventures At JP Morgan's China Conference. Beijing, April 24.
Posted on March 17, 2008China Law Blog's own Steve Dickinson will be speaking on China Joint Ventures (JVs) at JP Morgan's upcoming China Conference. This yearly conference, which truly is THE China conference, will take place at the Grand Hyatt in Beijing (already sold out) from April 23 to April 25 and it will, as always, include a huge roster of the leading China experts in various fields...
China's Big Current Thing Through Chinese Eyes
Posted on March 15, 2008When something big happens somewhere in the world, my first instinct is to seek to learn more by looking at what was written before it happened. I have been reading up on two things this weekend, Barack Obama's long standing and close relationship with the pastor he refers to as his "mentor" and recent "incidents" in China's Western region...
Selling China Stocks Short -- Literally
Posted on March 15, 2008Interesting post on the Seeking Alpha blog, by Steve Christ, entitled, "Why It's Not Too Late to Short China." Grossly simplified, it says inflation is doing in China's economy and it is not too late to profit from this by shorting China stocks. The way to short China stocks is to buy the UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Proshare ETF, listed on the AMEX exchange under the symbol FXP, which has done very well indeed over...
China Law Blogs
Posted on March 15, 2008When we started China Law Blog more than two years ago, there was really only one other China law blog: Chinese Law Prof Blog, written by Professor Donald Clarke. Now, in addition to the two of us, the China Law Blogosphere now also includes the following English language blogs by foreign lawyers and law students, in roughly descending order of seniority: 1...
Rule Of China Law And GDP. Was It The Chicken Or The Egg?
Posted on March 15, 2008The Economist Magazine has a really cool graph showing a pretty much direct (and not surprising) correlation between GDP and the rule of law (h/t to Experience not Logic). It would be nice to be able to use this correlation to argue for rule of law, but it just is not clear that rule of law leads to wealth, rather than the reverse, which is what I suspect: The rule of law is generally held...
Corruption In Asia: China Is Ten Out Of Thirteen.
Posted on March 13, 2008The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) recently asked "over 1,400 expatriates" to rank 13 Asian economies on corruption and the results of that survey, from least corrupt to most corrupt, are as follows: 1. Singapore 2. Hong Kong 3. Japan 4...
Bad China Products. Hey, It's A Criminal Thing, Part II
Posted on March 12, 2008About a month ago, I did a post, entitled, "Bad China Products, Hey, It's A Criminal Thing." That post was on the recent indictment of ChemNutra' and its owners for having allegedly imported tainted pet food. In the post, I speculated as to how there could be criminal liability in such an instance when it appeared ChemNutra did not know of the product problems: This is big and it will no doubt have us civil...
China Income Tax: The Video
Posted on March 11, 2008CLB's own Steve Dickinson was on CCTV's Dialogue program the other day discussing China's income tax. Steve was on with Kevin Ng, Tax Managing Partner for Deloitte in China. To watch the video of the program, go here. The show was ostensibly about China's having just raised its individual income tax threshold from 1600 yuan to 2000 yuan, but it ended up delving into "big policy" issues regarding fairness and equity...
If A Chinese Tree Falls In The Woods....
Posted on March 11, 2008A friend of mine went to El Salvador for a few weeks to help a small village with various business matters. She returned proclaiming how CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) had been horrible for this village because it had done little more than increase its food costs, especially corn...
China-US Trade -- Why Can't We Be Friends, Someday?
Posted on March 11, 2008Got an email the other day from blogger extraordinaire Dave Porter, saying, "I know you tend not to like big picture stuff about China, but check out the last half of Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong?s post on "Free Trade Fair Trade" the last half of which says": Think of it this way: Consider a world that contains one country that is a true superpower...
Mao Zedong: Mean Or Nice?
Posted on March 11, 2008Our last poll was such a success, I am running another one, even more sophisticated this time. The official Chinese government position is that he was right 70% of the time and wrong the other 30%. Please vote AND please comment. Opinion Polls & Market Research...
China: We're Number 1. We're Number 1.
Posted on March 09, 2008Everyone knows China is the most populated country in the world, but it is also first in a number of other things as well. But how many know it is also first in gold production? Brian Wingfield at Forbes discusses this and more in an article entitled, "China is No...
The Beijing Olympics: China And The IOC's Same-O Same-O
Posted on March 09, 2008The Absurdity, Allegory and China blog has a nice post up on the Olympics, entitled, "The Deck." Nothing terribly new here, but this is a very well put together post asserting that "International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge is maintaining a "?deck chairs on the Titanic" charade...
China Government Transparency: So I Took What I Could Get, Yes, I Took What I Could Get
Posted on March 08, 2008On May 1, China's new national ordinance on openness of information will come into effect. China Media Project just did an article on that new ordinance, entitled, "Rules upon rules: Henan leaders move to prevent local abuse of national information release legislation...
Cheap AND Tawdry SEX In China. Confucius Say.
Posted on March 08, 2008I tried to resist, but in the end, I too had to succomb. This post will probably outdraw by thousands our posts on China's New Labor Law and China's new FDI catalogue, put together. The sad truth is there are still people out there who find sex more interesting than law...
Zhou Enlai: Mean Or Nice?
Posted on March 07, 2008When my daughters were four or five years old, I would love to mention someone they knew and then ask, "mean or nice?" I would give them maybe 2-3 seconds to answer and I would then blurt out another name. They would outgrow the game (and prove themselves too nuanced to run for political office) once they started to hedge by trying to explain how someone was sometimes mean and sometimes nice...
China Labor Law: What's Good For The Law Firm And What's Good For The Lamb.
Posted on March 07, 2008Since December or so, my firm has been faced with a steady onslaught (that is definitely the right word) of China labor law work. Mostly, what we have been doing is helping companies get into compliance with China's new labor law by hammering out Chinese language contracts with their employees and by drafting Chinese language employment manuals...
Foreign Direct Investment In China: It All Just Changed
Posted on March 06, 2008By Steve Dickinson As a highlight to the opening of the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao gave a very complete report on the current issues of major concern to the Chinese government. An English language summary of his report can be found here: The full report in Chinese can be found here...
China BPO Outsourcing By The Numbers
Posted on March 06, 2008New Venture Outsourcing Blog did a post with a really cool AT Kearney graph breaking out the cost, people and skills, and business environment among various countries popular for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) (h/t to This Is China). China came in second overall, doing very well in costs and in people and skills, but not so well for business environment...
The China Ready Company -- The Basics
Posted on March 05, 2008Interesting interview with China consultant, Kent Kedl, in Upsize Magazine, with some good information, succinctly put. The article is entitled, "?Get dragged? into China, advises Technomic Asia founder," and it focuses on Kedl's advice for small and mid-sized companies getting into China: His No...
Change Your Car's Oil. See Your China Trademark Lawyer.
Posted on March 05, 2008Just came across a great post on the benefits of using lawyers before you encounter a problem. The post is entitled, "Cautionary Tale: Hire Trademark Attorney or Change Name -- Three Times," and it rightly bills itself as "a cautionary tale for business owners who adopt a trademark before talking to a trademark attorney...
Register Your IP In China. This Is What I'm Talkin 'Bout.
Posted on March 04, 2008Stan Abrams over at China Hearsay has woken up (what's with all the posts on sleep deprivation anyway?) and posted on a recent Chinese court decision finding for Motorola in a design patent infringement case. The post is aptly entitled, "IP Win for Motorola," and it makes some very good points...
Obama And Clinton And China As Though It Actually Matters.
Posted on March 04, 2008I put this out there for those who actually believe that what US presidential candidates say during a campaign has any correlation to what they will do once elected. The Nation Blog just did a post explaining Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's positions on China and on US trade with China...
The Sky Is Falling -- The China Food Edition
Posted on March 03, 2008I always see the glass half full. Global warming? I left the Midwest because of the cold. Overpopulation? Beats war and pandemics. Just old news. Limited fuel supply? Whatever. I nonetheless am a bit troubled after reading an article, entitled, "Food Security: Moving Towards the Precipice?" (h/t to China Economic Review Blog) The article is mostly an interview with Paul Ehrlich, president of the Center for Conservation Biology and Professor of Population Studies at Stanford University...
Putinism, Singapore, And China. The Impact Of It All.
Posted on March 03, 2008Very interesting post on the Thomas P.M. Barnett Blog, entitled,Who's afraid of Vladimir Putin? The post is on a very well reasoned article in Foreign Affiars Magazine, by Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, entitled, 'The Myth of the Authoritarian Model: How Putin's Crackdown Holds Russia Back...
The China Price Plus 30 Percent
Posted on March 02, 2008Anyone who has been doing business in China for a long time has heard/seen this story a million times. But that is why it is so important. Check out this post, entitled, "The China Price: Fishing for Fast Change."
Chinese Sensitivity: The Government Is The People
Posted on March 02, 2008Jeremiah Jenne, of Granite Studio fame, has a great post up on the China Beat blog, dealing with why the Chinese tend to be so sensitive to foreign criticism of China. In the post, entitled, "Prejudice Made Plausible? Foreign criticism and Chinese sensitivity," Jeremiah, who is getting dangerously close to a Ph...
China Law Bibliography
Posted on March 01, 2008Chinese Law Prof Blog has a post, entitled, "Bibliography of Western-language works on Chinese law." It links over to some really good China law bibliographies compiled by Knut Benjamin Pissler of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Private Law and Private International Law in Hamburg...
CLB's Steve Dickinson On CCTV-9 Tonight At 7:30 PM China Time
Posted on February 27, 2008CLB's own Steve Dickinson will be on CCTV's Dialogue show tonight at 7:30 pm talking about China's new individual income tax laws. We will run another post on this as soon as CCTV puts it on its website. Don't miss it!
China M&A: Can You Hear Me Now?
Posted on February 27, 2008A couple of months ago, co-blogger Steve Dickinson, wrote an article on China mergers and acquisitions for China In Business Magazine. Towards the end of that article, Steve set out, in layman's terms, the following realities of China M&A: ? Foreigners are permitted to purchase small Chinese companies that the central government is not interested in managing...
China As Manufacturing Center. Yes, Yes, Maybe, And Chill.
Posted on February 26, 2008This has to be some sort of record as this is my third post today on essentially the same topic: Does manufacturing in China still make sense? I just read an excellent nuts and bolts post, entitled, "China's First Steps Away From Low-Cost Manufacturing and What it Means For Your Company," by Ashton Udall over at the Product Global blog...
China FDI -- You Got To Know What To Hold, Know What To Fold
Posted on February 26, 2008Co-blogger Steve Dickinson is interviewed over at Danwei FM on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China. The interview, which can be heard here, focuses on China's new catalogue on foreign investment. I urge anyone contemplating investing in China to go have a listen...
Rising Factory Costs Erode China's Edge. Yada, Yada, Yada.
Posted on February 25, 2008New rule on this blog. If I am emailed the same article by three different people, I will write something about it, whether I want to or not. Four people emailed me this article and none said much more about it beyond, "have you seen this?" I am not even sure what the big deal is, but here goes...
Moving To Inland China: Anhui As The New Guangdong
Posted on February 25, 2008Earlier today I did a post on how I do not see many companies moving out of China for countries like Vietnam. One of the reasons I do not expect that to occur is because there are still huge swaths of China that are still incredibly low cost. A number of readers pointed out to me an article in today's China Daily, entitled, "Moving Inland," that nicely brings this point home...
Huawei, Bain, 3Com. There Will Be Blood. Because I Said So.
Posted on February 25, 2008The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on the failure of the Huawei/Bain 3Com deal. The article is entitled, "Harsh Climate In Washington Ices 3Com Deal: Hope for Buyout Revival Led By Foreign Capital Dims Amid China Jitters," and it mostly focuses on how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U...
Why Chinese Companies Fail In The US, Part II.
Posted on February 24, 2008A couple weeks ago, I did a post setting out lists as to why Western companies fail in China and my own list of why Chinese companies fail in the United States. Nina Ying Sun over at the Plastics News Blog (I know it sounds boring, but it most emphatically is not) has made some excellent comments on my explanations for Chinese company failures in the United States in a post entitled, "Why Chinese Companies Fail the US Market...
China's Incremental Revolution. Litigation As Political Force.
Posted on February 23, 2008Very interesting post on the Transnational Law Blog on a very interesting Christian Science Monitor article. The post is entitled, "Another Reason to Have Faith in China's Maturing Legal System," and the CSM article is entitled, "How one man in China strengthens the rule of law: Hao Jinsong, a Beijing lawyer, defies authorities with small lawsuits...
Managing the Risks of Manufacturing in China ? Las Vegas, February 28 and 29
Posted on February 22, 2008On February 28 and 29, I, along with Paul Brogan, Director of Supply QA for Burger King Corporation, will be co-chairing a conference on ?Managing the Risks of Manufacturing in China? in