King & Spalding (JD Supra China)

The People’s Bank of China (“Bank of China”) recently announced that it would encourage Chinese lenders “not to cut off loans” to Chinese exporters that are “facing temporary difficulties” as a result of the duties imposed by the United States on Chinese imports under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Ji Zhihong, the head of the Bank of China’s Financial Markets Department, stated that, “[i]f

The two premier Chinese central government agencies, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”), issued a directive on December 25, 2017, the Guidelines on Promoting A Green Development of the Petrochemical Industry (Fa Gai Chan Ye (2017) No. 2105) (“Guidelines”), to promote a sustainable development of the Chinese...

China has moved to start enforcing its new cybersecurity law as of Thursday, June 1, but the impact of the rules on foreign firms remains to be seen. The law was originally promulgated November 7, 2016 and serves to increase the Chinese government’s control over domestic internet security. Companies are concerned that Beijing has not provided sufficient detail about how the wide-reaching law...

On Monday, November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China promulgated a new cybersecurity law, providing the Chinese government with sweeping authority to regulate and monitor internet services. The impetus for the law was a perceived threat to local Chinese networks from malicious hackers, but the bill greatly affects both domestic and foreign companies...

On August 10, 2016, more than 40 international business associations spanning finance, information technology, insurance, and manufacturing urged the Chinese government to revise drafts of new cybersecurity regulations. Led by industry associations from Asia, Australia, Mexico, Europe, and the United States, the groups sent a letter to Chinese premier Li Keqiang expressing concerns with draft...

On June 21, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the China Manufacturing 2025 – Energy Equipment Implementation Plan (Plan), jointly issued by the MIIT, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Administration of China. The purpose of the Plan is to boost research and development and manufacturing of energy equipment in China,...

On May 19, the State Council of China published the country's first ten-year plan to boost its manufacturing sector, the China Manufacturing 2025 strategy. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang first mentioned the China Manufacturing 2025 strategy in his Government Work Report earlier this year, as a part of a broader 30-year strategy of transforming China from a "big manufacturing country" into a "powerful

Support Includes Government Funding, Policy Bank Loans, And Preferential Tax Policies - On May 19, 2015, China’s State Council issued a long-range planning document that specifically designates China’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry as a “key sector” to benefit from significant funding and other targeted support by the Government of China (GOC) for decades to come. The Made In

In response to concerns raised by the governments of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan - bilaterally and at the World Trade Organization (WTO) - the Chinese government appears to have placed implementation of some recently issued measures governing information and communications technology (“ICT”) in the banking sector. The China Banking Regulatory Commission’s Guidelines...

According to BP's Energy Outlook 2035, China will become the world's largest energy importer by 2035, overtaking Europe in terms of its energy imports. China's projected growth in demand for energy supplies, its plans to embrace cleaner and more efficient energy sources, and developments in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas global markets provide a strong basis for the view that there is...

On July 7, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body issued its report in United States – Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Products from China (DS 449). This proceeding traces its roots to 2006, when the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received a petition to initiate a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on coated free sheet paper (CFS Paper) from China. As...

Early this year, the Government of China (GOC) set a target of 7.5 percent growth for imports and exports in its annual work report. China's foreign trade has fallen far short of these targets so far this year. In the first four months of 2014, for only the second time in the past decade, China's imports and exports both declined. The value of China's exports dropped 4.8 percent and the value of...

On March 26, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released a dispute settlement panel report finding that China's imposition of export restraints on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum breach WTO rules. The United States, European Union and Japan had initiated this challenge in early 2012 claiming that China – through a variety of published and unpublished measures – imposed export duties, export

There is consensus among western economists and policymakers that exports are critical to economic growth. The Chinese government clearly agrees. A souring Chinese domestic economy and improving western economies, particularly in the United States, appear to be combining to trigger a surge in Chinese exports.

Over the past year, many of the United States' disputes with China at the World Trade Organization ("WTO") over China's AD and CVD practices have moved toward resolution in favor of U.S. manufacturers. China recently has indicated that it will eliminate duties on U.S. auto exports and bring its measures on chicken broiler products into compliance with its WTO obligations. The dispute over Chinese

China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization ("WTO") last month, claiming that the United States had improperly conducted antidumping investigations and administrative reviews related to 13 different products from China. The Government of China reported that the challenged proceedings covered a total Chinese export value of $8.4 billion. Antidumping investigations determine whether...

On October 15, the State Council of China published the Guidelines on Tackling Severe Overcapacity Problem (hereinafter "the Guidelines"). The Guidelines show the government's determination to address China's severe overcapacity problems in five major industries: steel, cement, electrolytic aluminum, sheet glass, and shipping.

In rapid succession, the Government of China has lost three cases before the World Trade Organization ("WTO") involving its conduct of injury investigations. The affirmative injury findings involve the disparate products of grain-oriented electrical steel, x-ray equipment, and chicken broiler parts. These cases evince a pattern of conduct by the Chinese investigating authority ("MOFCOM") that...

On September 29, 2013, China officially opened another special zone in its ongoing economic reform, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone ("the Pilot Free Trade Zone"). Integrating four existing bonded zones in Shanghai, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area, and Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone, the Pilot Free Trade Zone...

Manufacturers have long suspected that heavy state intervention is one secret of success for numerous Chinese exports, in addition to cheap labor and an undervalued currency. The recent Report on Chinese Industrial Policies (the "Report") prepared by King & Spalding for the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry ("CNI") demonstrates that these suspicions are correct. The Report identifies...

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) voted on January 22, 2013 to institute a Section 337 investigation on certain paper shredders produced in China based on a complaint filed by Fellowes, Inc., an Illinois-based maker of paper shredders. The case relates to a longstanding dispute between the company and its former joint-venture partner in China. This case highlights both the potential

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) voted on January 22, 2013 to institute a Section 337 investigation on certain paper shredders produced in China based on a complaint filed by Fellowes, Inc., an Illinois-based maker of paper shredders. The case relates to a longstanding dispute between the company and its former joint-venture partner in China. This case highlights both the potential

China confirmed during the 23rd Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (“JCCT”) that foreign-invested firms that provide third-party conformity assessment services (i.e., testing, inspection, and certification of compliance with voluntary standards and technical regulations) will be able to register in China to provide such services in relation to the China Compulsory Certificate (“CCC“) safety...

To ensure a healthy development of the economy, on January 23, 2013, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China announced the long-awaited Energy Development 12th Five Year Plan, one of the 18 national-level key sector-specific plans for the “12th Five Year” period (i.e., 2011 to 2015).

On December 18, 2012, USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk and U.S. Commerce Department Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank commenced a two-day meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan held in Washington, DC. This meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials was the twenty-third such encounter under the rubric of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (“JCCT”). The USTR also issued a report on China’s WTO...

Thirty years after it issued the last directive on enterprise technological renovation in 1982, the State Council of China published Guidelines of the State Council on Promoting Enterprise Technological Renovation (Guo Fa (2012) No. 44) (“Guidelines”) in September 2012. The Guidelines further the Chinese government’s efforts in urging enterprises to undertake technological improvement projects...

A WTO Panel, in a final report issued in July, ruled in favor of several U.S. claims that China maintains measures that unfairly discriminate against foreign suppliers of electronic payment services by modifying conditions of competition in favor of China’s national bank card association, China UnionPay (“CUP”).

On July 27, 2012, MIIT issued the Industrial Transfer Guidance Catalogue (2012) (“Catalogue”), the first comprehensive policy document promulgated by the MIIT to promote the orderly transfer of industries among regions, mainly from developed regions to less developed regions. The Catalogue is a further effort by the Chinese government to carry out the industrial and regional development strategy...

In a week that saw Apple, Inc. become the most valuable company in U.S. history, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) announced new rules that will reduce rare earth minerals output in China by 20 percent. Rare earth minerals are key inputs in the manufacture of the full spectrum of high-technology goods, including tablets, mobile phones, and televisions, batteries...

The State Council of China recently issued its first mid- and long-term plan for the entire industrial sector, the Industrial Transformation and Upgrade Plan (2011-2015). The Plan is an important step, and the highest level guideline, for the Chinese government to carry out the industrial development goals and tasks set out in China’s National Economic and Social Development 12th Five-Ye