Whereas the remarkable transformation of the Chinese economy over the past four decades is visible and has been extensively commented upon at the global level, the profound change of the Chinese legal system and its impact on foreign business are mostly neglected. An obstinate stereotype is that China is a lawless country or that personal relationships always precede over the law. In reality, China has developed a rather sophisticated and modernized legal regime which affects a wide spectrum of the Chinese society, as well as the operation of foreign business in a significant way. The Foreign Investment Law promulgated in 2019 introduces a novel system that grants foreign investors national treatment at the pre-establishment stage with a negative list, which means that foreign investors can establish their business in the same way as Chinese domestic companies do, unless in the prohibited or restricted sectors explicitly provided in the list issued by the central government. The Law is estimated to attract more foreign investment into China, while currently China is already the world’s second biggest host state of foreign direct investment. At the same time the Belt and Road Initiative has resulted in more Chinese outbound investment in Europe, collaboration and competition between European and Chinese businesses are intensifying. Both the EU and China are employing legal instruments to screening foreign investment. Legal controversies are abundant nowadays. The current debate on granting the Dutch company ASML an export license to sell its advanced semiconductor equipment to China, and permitting Chinese telecom giant Huawei to install 5G wireless network in the Netherlands, are two recent examples.
As China’s regulatory and governance model is seen as fundamentally different from the EU’s, there is a dire need for stakeholders outside of China to comprehend the Chinese legal system. This puts professional learning on Chinese business law in Europe a much needed and timely endeavour. In sharp contrast with the increasingly sought-after expertise for Chinese business law, a dedicated course on Chinese business law provided in Europe is still rather rare. The executive course: Chinese Business Law, can be expected to fill this void and meet the strong demand for critical learning on Chinese business law.
The course is given by Professor Yuwen Li, Dr. Cheng Bian and guest speakers including entrepreneurs and lawyers. It aims to introduce the holistic landscape of the Chinese business legal system, address various concerns, and challenge some widespread misconceptions the Western world holds regarding the governance, practical implications, and business environment in China. The six-day program covers an overview of modernization in post-Mao China; foreign investment law, contract law, company law, intellectual property law, and international commercial and investment dispute settlement. Participants will keep abreast of both perennially debated and most up-to-date issues and developments for doing business in China, inter alia, how Xi Jinping’s governance, the one-Party state, and the state-led economy can affect foreign business in China, what the promises and pitfalls of China’s 2019 promulgated Foreign Investment Law are for foreign business, how Force Majeure is understood in Chinese contract law in the context of the current pandemic, what the current status of State-owned Enterprises reform in China is and why it is difficult for private- and foreign- invested companies to compete with them, whether forced transfer of technology as accused by the US is a prevalent practice in China, and the development of the US-China trade war and why the much anticipated Phase I trade deal appears precarious.
Aiming to attract a wide range of audience, this course would be appealing to in-house counsels, corporate managers, lawyers, professionals working at consultancies and think-tanks, as well as policymakers at national and international institutions, all of whom are involved with China-related work or are simply interested in gaining critical insights on the practice and contexts of Chinese business law.
For detailed information and registration, please refer to: https://www.executivemasters.nl/leergangen/china-law/
