international dispute resolution lawyers
China Law Blog

Why Changing China Suppliers is So Risky

Smart Chinese manufacturers know that with their costs rising, they need to be able to distinguish themselves from their peers. One of the ways they are choosing to do this (even more frequently than in the past) is by copying and selling products they are making for their foreign customers. See Your China Factory as

International technology licensing agreements
China Law Blog

China Technology Licensing: The Questions We Ask

My law firm’s international licensing lawyers have been writing a slew of China technology licensing agreements lately. These deals usually come to us as China licensing deals. Sometimes they come to us as putative joint ventures, but after we explain the difficulties and costs in doing a joint venture, our clients seek to restructure their

Help me to figure out what is happening in terms of getting money out of China.
China Law Blog

Getting Money Out of China: What the Heck is Happening?

My law firm’s basic mantra about getting money out of China is that if you consistently follow China’s laws, it ought to be no problem. This though has not been true lately. In the last week or so, our China lawyers have probably received more “money problem” calls than in the entire year before that.

It's a big world out there, so export. (Infographic is from FedEx)
China Law Blog

Asia Export Strategies

I love to talk about what I call our “accidental exporter” clients. These are companies (mostly in the United States, but Europe too) who literally lucked out into becoming Asia exporters. And by “lucked out,” I mean they were quietly going about their business when contacted out of the blue by someone in Asia (usually

Vietnam, India, Mexico, Brazil. Anywhere but China.
China Law Blog

China’s Golden Age for Foreign Companies is Over

Let the hate mail begin. Whenever we write on how things are getting bad for foreign companies doing business in China and on how foreign companies should think long and hard before doing business in China, we get hate mail or hate comments (which we typically delete). Many of these come from China consultants accuse

International IP lawyers
China Law Blog

China IP Protection: Deja Vu All Over Again

When we first started this blog way back in 2006, we would constantly write how if you want to protect your IP in China, you have to register your IP in China.  Our thesis was (and is) that if you don’t bother registering your IP in China, you really have no right to complain about

100 chinese yuan bill
China Law Blog

China as Currency Manipulator: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I just read an article by Shaun Rein, entitled, “Why A Fast Appreciating Yuan Won’t Help US Economy,” and I have bones to pick with it. Let me start out by saying that I “talk China” pretty much every day and I have never spoken with anyone who believes all of the United States’ economic

China versus Vietnam and Thailand for foreign investment
China Law Blog

China is a Good Place for Foreign Companies

Our clients are always talking about where to invest in Asia, even more so in light of recent concerns about China no longer being a preferred destination for foreign investment. I have argued consistently that China is one of the best places for foreign investment in Asia. The World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Competitiveness