Research & Analysis

Companies can improve their government relations by learning more about China’s new civil servants by Kenneth Jarrett and Lie Huihan China’s steady march toward a more market-based economy has eliminated thousands of state-owned enterprises and reduced the government’s role in economic decisionmaking. Nevertheless, important sectors of the economy remain subject to government management, and the […]

Reform plans promise significant change, but what does that mean for foreign healthcare players? by James A. C. Sinclair Whenever Wang Hui, a product manager in Shanghai, needs to consult a doctor, it means hours queuing for a few minutes of an overburdened doctor’s attention. Yet Wang Hui is relatively well off. His father, a […]

When considering arbitration in China, it helps to know what foreign lawyers may and may not do under PRC law by Daniel Arthur Laprès There is general, though not unanimous, agreement that foreign lawyers may represent clients in proceedings before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) in disputes that do not involve […]

China recently approved long-awaited electronic-waste rules, but a product catalogue is pending. The State Council in early March released long-awaited rules governing the recycling and disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The new regulations, which take effect January 1, 2011, contain several new requirements for producers and importers, including new label and management […]

The US-China Business Council (USCBC) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) co-hosted a luncheon in honor of China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi, who was in Washington for meetings with officials from the US State Department and President Barack Obama. More than 100 guests attended the luncheon, including USCBC board member companies; […]

Companies that source in China should be on guard for trade remedy actions by Eric Emerson and Gary Horlick Recessions have historically brought sharp increases in trade remedy cases—antidumping (AD), countervailing duty (CVD), and safeguard proceedings—and there is no reason to think that this one will be any different. Indeed, World Trade Organization (WTO) statistics […]

Last fall’s melamine scandal illustrates the dangers of a less-than-rigorous approach to quality assurance. by Teresa DeLaurentis Companies doing business in China have had difficulty maintaining quality throughout the supply chain, as illustrated by recent food and product safety scandals. For example, in last year’s melamine-tainted milk scandal, inherent problems in manufacturing processes and supply […]

by Godfrey Firth With most of the world mired in recession, all eyes are on China’s much-discussed and hoped-for potential economic recovery in the fall of 2009 or early 2010. Many multinational corporations seem to be pinning their hopes for positive results in 2009 on their China operations. For China-based managers, this hope brings increased […]

International nonprofits have a growing presence in China, but they still face an uphill battle to gain state approval and acceptance by Matthew Erie, David Livdahl, Jacelyn Khoo, and Henry Li In light of China’s encounter with the current global economic crisis, the types of services that international nonprofit organizations (INPOs) offer are now more […]

China’s rapid urbanization promises a higher quality of life for millions of rural residents but only if urban governments implement and enforce the right policies by Shahid Yusuf China’s urbanization rate is not extraordinary. It is approaching 50 percent, which is the average for the world as a whole, but far less than the 78 […]