China licensing lawyers

Selling, Licensing and Distributing Products and Services into China

I have been writing too much about foreign companies looking to leave China and not enough about foreign companies looking to get into China. For the last few months, the work lives of the international lawyers at my law firm have been tilted towards those looking to leave China, rather than to get into China,

Shutting down a China WFOE

China, the United States and the New Normal

I got an angry email yesterday in response to my having predicted a decline in manufacturing orders from China. The email accused me of “hating China” and wanting “to impede its peaceful” rise and of being “jealous of its progress.” All this because we have lately been writing how many of our law firm’s clients

China lawyers

How to Leave China AND Survive

Not surprisingly, our China lawyers are seeing a massive increase in foreign companies seeking to reduce or eliminate their China ties. Many are seeking to terminate their relationship with their Chinese suppliers and move production elsewhere (so far, it’s been mostly to Vietnam, Taiwan, Poland, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, India and Malaysia). The other day I

China WFOE formation

Doing Business in China Without a WFOE: Will the Defendant Please Rise

I do mean to sound alarmist here. Almost since this blog’s inception, we have written about how if you are doing business in China you need a Chinese legal entity, be it a Wholly Foreign Owned Entity (WFOE), a Joint Venture (JV) or a Representative Office (RO). And pretty much each time, our writings on

Multi levelmarketinginChina

How to Get Paid by Chinese Companies

Companies often contact our China lawyers on “how to get money out of China”. These questions usually arise from a Chinese entity purchasing assets like real estate or stock and other securities and then failing to perform on its deal payment obligations. The Chinese side claims it wants to pay, but the Chinese government will

Autonomous Vehicles

Self Driving Cars in China: The Roadmap and the Risks

Developing self driving cars is the centerpiece of the Chinese government’s plan to redesign its manufacturing and technology sector. The Chinese have coined the term Intelligent and Connected Vehicles (ICV) (智能网联汽车)as their technical term for the China version of what is an international race towards a difficult technical goal. The ICV is an ideal goal

Chinese company due diligence Seal or Chop

China Company Chops: The Basics

It is nearly always a good idea to have your Chinese counter-party “chop” or “seal” your China contracts with their official China company chop. There are many types of company chops. Which one should be used? How do you know if the company chop is real? What does a real China company chop look like?

Chinese companies overseas

Chinese Company Coming to America: A Mostly True Horror Story

A few weeks ago I got a fascinating email from someone in response to my post, Top Ten Reasons Chinese Companies Fail in America. But before you read this email, let me make clear that there are Chinese companies that do a good job operating in the United States and my publishing this email is NOT intended

United States tariff exception

China/U.S. Tariffs and How to Fight Back

President Trump last week announced that the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, to punish China for its “systematic theft” of U.S. intellectual property and/or to reduce America’s trade deficit with China. China fired back by announcing it would  impose 25% tariffs on about $50 billion worth of

China movie contracts

China Movie Stars and The Two-Contract Problem

Over the past couple weeks, the Chinese Internet has been abuzz with chatter about how Chinese movie stars allegedly underreport income via a dual-contract system in which only one contract is disclosed to the tax authorities. The ruckus started when television personality Cui Yongyuan uploaded a redacted actor employment contract apparently for Chinese A-list actress