Arbitration and China’s Global Business

Image: Linnaea Mallette, Shipping Port (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The growing importance of global business to China makes it crucial for the country to show its commitment to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards. Since 1987, China has been a contracting state of the New York Convention, which requires each contracting state to ensure that its judiciary recognizes and enforces an arbitral award made in another contracting state, unless such recognition or enforcement would be contrary to the contracting state’s “public policy”, among other exceptions. The convention does not interpret the “public policy” exception. How the Chinese judiciary interprets it directly influences foreign parties’ level of confidence in doing business with China. A recent court case in China sheds light on the interpretation of this exception.Read more

Key Talks in 1992, Court Cases in 2024, and “New Quality Productive Forces”

Image: Mikhail Denishchenko, Production Technology (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Coined by President XI Jinping in 2023, the term “new quality productive forces” is of great significance because related reforms, with reference to various types of investment, have been identified by the Chinese leadership. Key talks given in 1992 by the late reformist leader DENG Xiaoping and select court cases recently released by China help illuminate the meaning of the term. Actions taken by the courts in these cases to support the development of “new quality productive forces” allow investors to better assess related opportunities.Read more

China’s Third Plenary Session: Implications for Strengthening Deterrence of Accounting Violations

Image: Axelle B, Euros Handshake (Publicdomainpictures.net)

“Strengthening the regulation of listed companies” and “improving the mechanism for protecting investors” are among the many reform tasks identified in the widely anticipated decision adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on July 18, 2024. While China’s newly amended Accounting Law may help accomplish these goals, a case decided by the Supreme People’s Court suggests that additional measures are required.Read more

In Brief

Image: Petr Kratochvil, Apartment Building Pattern (Publicdomainpictures.net)

How courts in China handle cases involving struggling real estate developers will affect foreign investors’ confidence in the entire Chinese market. The Supreme People’s Court recently highlighted the enforcement of a series of cases involving a real estate developer. These cases provide indications illuminating how courts in China are expected to follow suit to achieve “good political, social, and legal effects”.Read more

In Brief

Images: Kai Stachowiak, Background Wallpaper;
icon0 com, China Flag Themes Idea (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Is there any chance for a private enterprise to win a lawsuit against a state-owned enterprise or a government agency in China? In an apparent attempt to boost confidence in the Chinese market, the Supreme People’s Court of China has signaled an affirmative answer to this question by releasing two court cases. Will the positive treatment of private enterprises, as demonstrated in these two cases, become a norm?Read more

In Brief

Image: Dawn Hudson, Globe Watercolour (Publicdomainpictures.net)

U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping has eased the growing tension between the two countries, giving rise to hope that the difficult Taiwan issue will be unlikely to trigger conflict in the near future. This development is in line with the mainstream stance taken by people in Taiwan. The majority of respondents to surveys conducted from 1994 to 2022 have expressed their wish to see Taiwan (a) maintain the status quo and then decide the future at a later date; or (b) maintain the status quo indefinitely. What does this signal to leaders in Beijing? What can be done in the interim?Read more

In Brief

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China’s release of a Typical Case showcasing how courts in Shanghai recognized and enforced a foreign arbitral award by a special reading of the factual situation involved may help instill more confidence in foreign parties amid China’s efforts to revive its economy. How was this breakthrough ruling made? What are the implications of the ruling?Read more

In Brief

Images: Denise Lett;
Africa Studio;
MattiaATH (Shutterstock.com)

In early 2022 (a special year that marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China–South Korea diplomatic relations), China released a Typical Case to highlight the country’s recognition and enforcement of a South Korean judgment. Why now? What messages does this send to courts inside and outside China?Read more

In Brief

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Apart from China’s Guiding Cases, legal practitioners, business executives, and other stakeholders must not forget about Typical Cases, another category of representative cases that the Supreme People’s Court of China can release to guide Chinese courts’ adjudication. What are Typical Cases? Why are they significant?Read more