“From my perspective, I think to get the very interest and attention from a Chinese client is, you need to know the Chinese culture first, because we have a relationship first, business later. So it’s totally different between China and Europe. And Chinese clients want to know who you are before what you can do.”…
“If we just say, OK, referral case to the foreign lawyers, I think that is just a one-shot deal. It can’t really keep the long-term relationship between two law firms.” Hongxia Zhang‘s blunt assessment cuts through the comfortable fiction that many international and Chinese law firms maintain: that periodic referrals constitute meaningful collaboration. As a…
“From decades of working with Chinese clients, they generally want to know who you are first before what you can do. But I tend to group them into two. The first category are the ones who are SOEs, the ones with some state support. They have a slightly different approach than those who are not…
“From my experience, telling my Chinese potential clients or also counterparts in negotiation that I read the five great novels, great Chinese novels, and I appreciated them with appropriate quotation, it’s something that has facilitated me in creating this kind of trust, this kind of guanxi.” When Bernardo Cartoni shares this insight, he’s describing something…
“The Chinese client must first approach you. And to approach you, they will either have heard of you from somewhere or read about you in a directory or maybe heard of you from LexChina. But you have to go beyond just that referral. They come to you based on your reputation. And they now begin…
Introduction: A New Era of Vigorous Enforcement China’s anti-monopoly enforcement has entered a new era of vigor andsophistication in 2025, with a sharpened focus on the digital economy and publicutilities. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), China’s topantitrust watchdog, has launched a series of high-profile investigations andimposed significant penalties on companies for monopolistic practices,…
Introduction: A Complex and Ever-ChangingRegulatory Framework China’s cybersecurity and data privacy landscape is one of the most complex andrapidly evolving in the world. In 2025, the government has continued to refine andexpand its regulatory framework, issuing a series of new standards, guidelines, andenforcement actions that have significant implications for all businesses operatingin the country. For…
Introduction: A New Chapter in IP Enforcement In a clear demonstration of its commitment to fostering innovation and protectingthe rights of creators, China has taken significant steps in 2025 to strengthen itsintellectual property (IP) protection regime. The establishment of new specializedIP tribunals in several major cities and the introduction of harsher penalties for infringement mark…
Introduction: A Continuously Refined Framework for Foreign Investment As of mid-2025, China’s foreign investment landscape continues to evolve, with thegovernment making a series of adjustments to its regulatory framework to attracthigh-quality foreign investment and to address emerging challenges. Thesechanges, which include updates to the national “Negative List” for foreigninvestment and the introduction of new sector-specific…
Introduction: A Greener Future for China, A Higher Bar for Business In a landmark announcement in October 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinpingpledged to significantly accelerate the country’s efforts to combat climate change,including a commitment to cut economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Thishigh-level political commitment has been swiftly followed by a series of new environmental regulations and…