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By Guan Feng and Tang Lu King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution group

Recently, represented by Ken Wu, Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands, China officially signed the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (“the Convention”). The Convention is an international treaty that legally binds Contracting Parties to a uniform set of rules relating to civil and commercial matters. It currently has 33 Contracting Parties, mostly EU member states (excluding Denmark). Ukraine, the U.S. and China have not yet ratified the Convention under domestic law. We are still waiting for China to announce whether it has reservations about any of the provisions.
Continue Reading The Choice of Court Agreement and Its Implications on China

By Huang Jianwen King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory group

On October 10 2017, the China Food and Drug Administration (“CFDA”) issued the Decisions Concerning the Adjustment of Imported Drug Registration (No. 35 Order by CFDA, “Decisions”). This implements the policy of encouraging new drug marketing following the earlier issuances of Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Evaluation and Approval System and Encouraging the Innovation of Drugs and Medical Devices by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on October 8. 
Continue Reading The reform of imported drugs registration encourages the marketing of new drugs in China

By Scott Heezen  King & Wood Mallesons’ Sydney office.

A number of tax concessions are available for Australian investment vehicles that qualify as managed investment trusts (MITs) for tax purposes. These concessions are designed to encourage investment into Australia, particularly Australian real estate, by both resident and non-resident investors.

A trust must satisfy a number of requirements in order for it to qualify as a MIT and access these concessions (download Investing Down Under: A Guide for Global Real Estate Investors in English or Chinese for a list of requirements). 
Continue Reading Tax concessions for Managed Investment Trusts in AU

By Jinsong Zhang, Wei Kao, Zhengyi Pan King & Wood Mallesons‘ Finance & Capital Markets group

On September 13, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking a Chinese-backed private equity firm headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners Inc. (“Canyon Bridge”), from buying a Hillsboro, Oregon-based chipmaker, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (“Lattice”), for $1.3 billion, sending a signal that the U.S. will oppose China-related takeover deals that particularly involve in the high-tech sector.
Continue Reading Trump Blocks His First CFIUS Deal – What Can We Learn from it?

By Greg Stonefield King & Wood Mallesons’ London office

The European Commission has taken steps to address foreign investments in the EU. While the Commission are proposing a regulation establishing an EU framework to screen foreign direct investments, they will at the same time immediately proceed with the following measures:

By Liu Ting and Song Miao King & Wood Mallesons‘ Commercial & Regulatory group​

In accordance with the provisions of the Work Safety Law, where a production and business operation entity violates work safety rules, in addition to corresponding administrative penalties to be imposed on the entity, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly liable persons are also subject to administrative penalties. Meanwhile, for the crimes related to work safety in the Criminal Law of the PRC, i.e. the crime of negligently causing serious accident, the crime of major labor safety accident, the crime of failing to report or reporting false information about safety accident, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly liable persons of the production and business operation entity are those to be held accountable. So, how to determine the persons responsible for work safety in enterprises? 
Continue Reading Who Is the First Person Responsible for Work Safety?

By Luo Ai, Tang Xiaojing King & Wood Mallesons’ Commercial & Regulatory group

On 1 August 2017, Guangdong High Court published the Explanation about Difficult Issues in Adjudicating Labor Disputes (“Explanation”). This is Guangdong High Court’s third judicial opinion on labor disputes since the Employment Contract Law’s entry into force in 2008. This Explanation consists of 23 sections, which can be divided into five groups:

Group I (sections 1 to 4): Determination of employment relationship. The keynote is “employment relationship shall not be generalized”. Diversification and liberalization of employment models are recognized. The characteristics and constituent elements of employment relationship are reiterated. The courts put emphasis on substance and respect the agreement of the parties.
Continue Reading Guangdong High Court’s Recent Labour Disputes Explanation

By Xue Han, Liu Keer, Xue Yingyuan King & Wood Mallesons‘ Corporate & Securities group

Against the backdrop of cyber security law, Updated privacy policies, do they live up to the hype?

Quite a few major internet giants in mainland China, apparently encouraged by regulatory authorities, have put in considerable efforts in recent months to update their privacy policies. It appears that the relevant regulatory authorities have completed assessing the updated policies. These updated policies are likely to be viewed as having a certain effect in setting a precedent or benchmark for personal data compliance in mainland China.
Continue Reading Updated Privacy Policies, Do They Live up to the Hype?

By Dorothy Murray, Liu Haitao (Harry), Li Ronghui (Sam) King & Wood Mallesons

On 12 September 2017, China signed the Hague Convention on Choice-of-Court Agreements[1] (the “Hague Convention”), joining the EU (including the UK), Singapore, Mexico, the US and the Ukraine[2] in an international framework to promote international trade and investment by encouraging judicial cooperation in the field of jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments.

The Hague Convention seeks to replicate for court judgments what the New York Convention of 1958[3] has (largely) achieved for international arbitration awards, allowing a winning party to have its “win” recognised quickly and easily around the world with limited grounds for challenges on enforcement.
Continue Reading China Signs the Hague Choice of Court Convention

By Mark Schaub, Atticus Zhao and Jerry Wang King & Wood Mallesons’ Corporate & Securities group

Many countries recognize the significant road safety, economic and environmental benefits that automated driving technologies may bring. As a result the eventual roll-out of autonomous technology is awaited with great eagerness but before automated driving vehicles can be commercially launched they will need to undergo strict technical and road tests to ensure their safety.
Continue Reading Self-driving Car Road Tests in China – How to get on the Road to Progress