By Richard  Wigley  King&WoodMallesons’ Intellectual Property Group

Though there are relatively few publicized instances where foreign companies (or their P.R.C. subsidiaries or joint ventures) or foreign individuals in China have formally been found to have run afoul of the Law of the P.R.C. on Guarding State Secrets (“State Secrets Law”)[1], the consequences of doing so are significant. Specifically, the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law for Trial of Cases of Stealing, Buying, or Unlawfully Supplying State Secrets or Intelligence for Entities outside of the Territory of China (“Interpretation”) notes that “[w]hoever steals, spies into, buys or unlawfully supplies state secrets or intelligence for entities outside of the Territory of China” can, under certain circumstances, be given a lengthy prison term or, potentially, in especially serious cases even the death sentence.[2] As such, foreign companies and individuals that may be dealing with state secrets in China should be very concerned regarding their duties and potential liabilities under the State Secrets Law.
Continue Reading China’s State Secrets Law and Compliance Issues for Foreign Companies