In Brief

Images: gnomeandi;
Peter Gudella (Shutterstock.com)

The worsening food crisis around the world has made the China–Laos Railway, which opened in December 2021, even more important to China. Has China taken steps to help Laos so that the latter can manage related legal risks better? From China’s perspective, helping Laos maximize its benefits from this USD 6 billion railway project while minimizing the risks involved will strengthen the two countries’ relations and bode well for China’s presence in that region.Read more

Plants

Image: George Hodan, Agriculture (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case Nos. 92, 100, and 160 to clarify fundamental issues related to the protection of rights to new plant varieties that were left unanswered by the country’s legislation and judicial interpretations.  Yet, have these three Guiding Cases essentially lost their significance, considering that their guiding principles, as analyzed in this article, have already been incorporated into the Supreme People’s Court’s latest judicial interpretation related to new plant varieties?  Dr. Mei Gechlik explains why the answer is negative and discusses related implications. Read more