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International Law

China Hearsay

Commentary and analysis of law and business in China.
By Stan Abrams

Post Frequency: 8.4/day

Last Entry: May 03, 2010 at 11:04:24

Which Country Is More Stable - China or US?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Excellent post by Will Lewis on governance issues. The discussion stems from some World Bank rankings, but Will muses about what factors a Chinese government official would most value. No surprise that stability is the first thing that pops into his mind (me too)...

China?s Faustian Bargain With the Auto Industry

Posted on July 09, 2009
OK, the post title is a tad melodramatic. However, two related newsish items found their way into my Inbox at the same time. Both were disturbing. First was a straightforward news item from the FT on June car sale numbers, up 48.5% from last year. Yeah! A nice boost to GDP, more indications that domestic consumption [...

Does the Green Dam Web Filter Violate WTO Law?

Posted on July 08, 2009
After proclaiming several days ago that I was sick and tired of all the news about Beijing’s attempts to have all PC makers pre-install web filter software before making any China sales, I put a moratorium on further China Hearsay posts on the subject...

Is Nothing Sacred? Trademark vs. Branding

Posted on July 08, 2009
First I find out that F = ma only works some of the time. Then I get the news that the Sci-Fi Channel will now be called Syfy. I guess nothing lasts forever, even the immutable laws of physics. IP lawyer wonk that I am, however, the first thought that popped into my pea brain was [...

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The Importance of Ethnicity

Posted on July 06, 2009
In Washington, D.C., there is something called the “Revolving Door.” This refers to the practice of folks that move from government job to private sector job (and back again). There is a negative connotation to this term, as it presupposes that when these people are in the private sector, they are trading on influence with [...

?Reciprocity? Seems to be the Trade Policy Word of the Day

Posted on July 06, 2009
China’s government and companies should learn to apply the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism in a “rational” and “practical” manner to protect interests of companies and deal with complaints, an official said yesterday...

More On the Fallows-Ferguson US-China Relations Discussion

Posted on July 06, 2009
Jim Fallows has posted more information and links (here and here) on the moderated discussion he had with Niall Ferguson (I commented on this last week) on US-China relations. I just viewed a clip that included a question from the audience and Fallows’ response...

Coincidence? I Think Not

Posted on July 06, 2009
You remember when a lot of stuff was being blown up a couple years ago in Iraq and the US military blamed it all on foreign terrorists? I’m starting to wonder whether those are the same outside agitators that were responsible for the recent unrest in Iran and the current situation in Xinjiang...

Niall Ferguson Displays His Dickishness on U.S.-China Relations

Posted on July 04, 2009
A nice bit of reporting by David Brooks in the New York Times.� Brooks attended one of those intelligentsia meetings (this one was the Aspen Ideas Festival — I wonder if Tom Friedman was there?) where China policy was discussed. Luckily for the reality-based community, Jim Fallows was there providing counterpoint to Niall Ferguson, who was [...

FIE Listings in China: Don?t Hold Your Breath

Posted on July 03, 2009
China may allow foreign firms with investments inside the country to list domestically, as part of efforts to boost trader confidence during the global downturn, according to an official. “We will continue to actively work with relevant authorities to study and complete the policy of allowing foreign-invested companies to list in the country,” Vice Commerce Minister [...

Auto Purchase Tax and China?s Policy Priorities

Posted on July 03, 2009
This is a very complicated policy area. Vehicle tax policy impacts the overall economy, the important auto industry, air quality and pollution, and of course applicable revenue usage by parts of the government. Looking at things like emissions standards, incentives given to the auto industry, trade issues in this sector, and infrastructure/transportation initiatives helps to understand [...

Racial Preferences in China: Not Just an American Issue

Posted on July 03, 2009
Lots of online chatter this week regarding the plight of a Chongqing student: In the latest development of a case that has received quite a bit of attention over the past week, the admissions office of Peking University announced yesterday that it would not accept the application of He Chuanyang to study at the university’s Guanghua [...

Let Them Eat Cake

Posted on July 03, 2009
During a serious recession, I don’t think this sort of behavior supports the idea of a harmonious society (h/t FP Passport): If there were still any doubts about capitalism’s arrival in China, this puts it to rest. Wealthy mainlanders are increasingly taking to the grassy fields as polo becomes yet another mode of expression: The founder of [...

This is Not Going to End Well

Posted on July 02, 2009
I have no idea whether this is accurate. The report is from MSNBC News and sounds bizarre: How can an airline pack 40 percent more passengers onto a plane, trim costs by 20 percent and lower airfares for its customers? By offering “standing” seats...

China Trademark Problems for iPhone?

Posted on July 01, 2009
This is certainly interesting, although I think that there is more going on here than what made it into the news. From Computerworld: A Chinese company that owns the trademark “i-phone” has said it is not in talks with Apple, even though Apple may need the company’s blessing to sell its similarly named iPhone in China...

Tales of Web Editing Gone Awry

Posted on June 30, 2009
You ever hit the “send” button prematurely and allow an email with embarrassing content to go out to the wrong person? That’s the nearest analogy I can come up with for this tale of woe about an editor at the People.com.cn site, but even then it does not do this story justice...

Virtual Currency Regs

Posted on June 30, 2009
Been waiting for some guidance from the government on this issue for several years now, ever since Tencent was smacked around by the government regarding QQ Coin related practices. At the time (2003?), the banking regulators were freaking out, worrying that virtual currencies were acting too much like the RMB...

I?ve Had Enough of the Web Filter Stories

Posted on June 29, 2009
As of last weekend, I am officially sick and tired of all the stories about the Green Dam web filter and the government’s attempts to restrict access to porn sites. With the exception of a later post (probably tomorrow) on the merits of a WTO case in this area, I think I’m going to leave [...

Friedman Watch: Master of the Obvious

Posted on June 29, 2009
I was at a conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, a few weeks ago and interviewed Craig Barrett, the former chairman of Intel, about how America should get out of its current economic crisis. If I hadn’t already mentioned the name of Tom Friedman, columnist and international man of mystery, in the post title, you could figure [...

No Sichuan Hummer?

Posted on June 29, 2009
A Chinese firm’s bid to buy the gas-guzzling Hummer car brand will be blocked on environmental grounds, according to Chinese state radio. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery emerged as the surprise buyer for the brand earlier this year...

Quality of Life in Beijing Gets Boost (from Shanghai government)

Posted on June 29, 2009
Now this is great news (from China Briefing): The local government is set to launch a program that will give foreign finance specialists incentives to work in Shanghai including lowered taxes, reports Shanghai Daily. The financial talent award is just one of the government?s policies aimed at turning Shanghai into an international financial and shipping hub [...

Some JVs Are Doomed From the Start

Posted on June 27, 2009
I generally avoid any jokes with racial overtones, but in this case, I’ll make an exception. From the BBC: Russia’s energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (�1.53bn) deal with Nigeria’s state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture...

Would This Be Legal in China?

Posted on June 27, 2009
To go along with last post’s racist humor, I’ll now dive into a pit of juvenile depravity. I’m doing well today — I’ve no doubt attracted lots of teenage skinheads to my readership. Question: if Burger King decides to sell its new sandwich, the “BK Super Seven Incher” (yes, that’s really the name) in China (it’s [...

First Rule of Boycotts: Feasibility

Posted on June 24, 2009
Elaine Chow at Shanghaiist reports on Ai Weiwei’s call for an Internet boycott to protest the government’s mandate that all PCs be sold with Green Dam Net filtering software: On micro-blogging website Twitter, Ai called for the low-key protests to mark a day that is also the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party...

Pollution Problem Will Not Be Solved By Enlightened Consumers

Posted on June 24, 2009
This one is a little preachy and esoteric towards the end, but bear with me. Interesting, if not surprising, results from a J.D. Power study on Chinese auto consumers: A new study by market research firm J.D. Power suggests that the country?s consumers are more interested in appearance and comfort than fuel economy when they make auto [...

Is Google Down?

Posted on June 24, 2009
I remember when this shit happened five or six years ago, for about a day. It was tough getting work done, and at that time, I was just relying on The Google for search. These days, it’s search, email and RSS. Thank heaven for proxies, but either way, I hope this is over soon...

My New Zero Tolerance Policy for Trademark Clients

Posted on June 23, 2009
Dan at CLB posted some good comments on trademark filing concerns. He is finding that with the economic downturn, some clients are cutting corners and perhaps making some poor decisions when it comes to PRC and U.S. trademark registration. As someone with a much smaller readership than Dan’s and a blithe willingness to piss off prospective [...

Global Business, Local Life, and Communication

Posted on June 23, 2009
For the last couple of days, I’ve been following the events in the Middle East with some fascination. All over the foreign press, hardly a peep in the local Chinese press (to be expected). The turmoil in Iran has actually made me, for the first time since the U...

China Export Tax Kerfuffle

Posted on June 23, 2009
Cause: U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to launch a WTO case against China on Tuesday when he holds what his office called a major news conference regarding U.S.-China trade. Kirk’s office gave no details in announcing the 9:15 a.m...

Corporate Charity and the Earthquake Coke Boy

Posted on June 20, 2009
Little Red Book looks into the Sichuan “Earthquake Coke Boy” story (original stuff with some translated Net comments courtesy of Chinasmack): Named ?Earthquake Coke Boy? by netizens, Xue Xiao became famous when after being rescued from the SiChuan earthquake, the first words he muttered through the pain was ?Uncle, please give me an ice cold Coke...

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