Seyfarth Shaw LLP (JD Supra China)

U.S. health care providers should closely inspect PPE equipment bought from Chinese companies in light of recent revelations regarding the registration practices of approximately 1,300 Chinese entities.

Seyfarth Synopsis: First American case reported of deadly new Chinese coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that it is closely monitoring an outbreak caused by a new 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) (coronavirus) first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province China.

Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 23, 2019, the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress in China (NPC) amended the Chinese Trademark Law. The changes are intended to combat the problem of trademark filings made in bad faith in China. Concerns remain, though, that the new law may undermine the practice by which legitimate brand owners file “defensive” trademark...

Seyfarth Synopsis: The People’s Republic of China is making progress in implementing its mandatory “social credit system.” Multinational businesses in China should be watchful of this system, and ready for it when it rolls out – if it hasn’t already.

Seyfarth Synopsis: Bilateral social security agreements between countries play an important role in facilitating the cross-border movement of employees, as they reduce exposure to the simultaneous application of the relevant countries’ social security programs to a cross-border employee.

The Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (“MHRSS”) implemented the Measures on Publication of Significant Violations of Labor and Social Security Laws (“Measures”) effective January 1, 2017. The Measures require local counterparts of MHRSS (“Bureaus”) to record and publicize certain employer violations of labor and social security laws through official websites, local...

Seyfarth Synopsis: A new Work Permit Policy (Policy) is being implemented in China. The Policy had been initially implemented, from October 2016 to March 2017, through a pilot program in a number of regions including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Shenzhen. Nationwide implementation of the Policy commenced on April 1, 2017.

All enterprises in China may soon be subject to a new rule governing how they export personal information and important data. Under the draft rules, companies that export data will have to undergo regular self-assessments of their security controls on data and in certain circumstances may have to be assessed by the authorities as well.

Seyfarth Synopsis: An environmental remediation technologies company is in the midst of litigation in Chinese courts over a $1.2 million contract to provide its technology to a Chinese company. According to the Chinese entity, the technology provider failed to deliver the unit in a “timeframe that was agreed.”

The Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) has launched a new nationwide grading system to evaluate employers’ employment law compliance. This system has been put in place via the Measures for the Grading of Enterprises’ Employment Law Compliance (the “Grading Measures”) and is effective January 1, 2017.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee has now finalised the new Cyber Security Law ("CSL"), to take effect on 1 June 2017. The fast development of the internet in China has caused a rapid escalation of security issues in China, such as the security of the data of internet users, the management of websites and e-commerce, and all types of cybercrimes.

China has finalized a broad new Cyber Security Law, its first comprehensive data privacy and security regulation. It addresses specific privacy rights previously adopted in the European Union and elsewhere such as access, data retention, breach notification, mobile privacy, online fraud and protection of minors.

The Chinese regulatory regime governing e-commerce has been constantly evolving as domestic and cross-border e-commerce continues its rapid growth. Recently, the regulatory environment has opened up in several ways: restrictions on foreign shareholding have been eased, a more favorable tax treatment has been promulgated, and new zones are being opened to facilitate free trade and cross-border e-c

The current Chinese foreign investment laws were enacted decades ago. Under these laws the approval process is typically time-consuming and burdensome for a foreign investor. In an attempt to streamline the regulatory framework, as well as to attract foreign investment at a time of weak economic growth, the Chinese government has initiated a reform to the existing foreign investment regime.

Effective August 1, the rules around salary payment practices are now more practical for employers in Shanghai, thanks to an update to the Municipal Enterprises Salary Payment Regulation (“Updated Regulation”). An employer in Shanghai now has the freedom to implement its own salary payment rules, as long as the rules don’t conflict with the Updated Regulation.

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection has just announced criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement statistics, and put companies on notice that those who violate environmental laws and rules may face blacklisting, including restrictions to their future business endeavors.

In February 2016, China’s General Office of the State Council issued its Opinion on Strengthening Management of the Service for Foreigners’ Permanent Residency (“Opinion”), setting out a framework for the development of less restrictive requirements for permanent residency (Green Card) applications in China by foreigners, and more generous benefits.

A policy shift has been taking place in China: governments are encouraging increased procreation by Chinese couples, and the “One-Child Policy” is being replaced by incentives that encourage citizens to marry earlier and have more children. Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong have promulgated new local rules along these lines, and other provinces and cities, such as Beijing, are in the midst of...

To simplify and unify business registrations and corporate filings, the Chinese government has initiated a reform to combine the business license, tax registration certificate and organization code certificate of a PRC-registered entity into one certificate, also known as the “3-in-1 Certificate”. As the reform has now been rolled out to the entire country after several pilot periods in certain...

In the last twelve months the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been remarkably vocal about environmental law, monitoring, and fraud, especially under the new environmental law and supplemental measures.

As business needs and strategic objectives evolve, multi-national corporations commonly restructure their operations, often requiring significant numbers of employee terminations. In China, the current legal scheme for mass employee layoffs requires a choice between unilateral termination by the employer for redundancy and termination via a mutual separation agreement with the employee.