A reader sent me an email today with a link to a discussion on a LinkedIn group regarding the cost of setting up and doing business in China. The discussion began with someone seeking information regarding the best way to set up a business in China and information about what that will cost. I am… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: January 2011
Secure And Insecure Countries. In Light Of Egypt. An Open Thread.
Posted in China BusinessI am always amazed and impressed and yet also somewhat skeptical of the courage of my firm’s clients. Right after the fall of communism in Russia, we represented a whole slew of companies going into Russia’s Far East, mostly in an effort to capture its natural resources of timber, fish and metals. I would ask… Continue Reading
Cambodia As China Appendage. Not So Fast.
Posted in China BusinessBy: Steve Dickinson In an earlier post, entitled, “Cambodia: China’s Newest Appendage,” I commented on the rumors of extensive investment by China into Cambodia. The rumor at that time was that the “Chinese” had agreed to make over $3.0 billion in investment in Cambodia’s energy and transport sectors. I mentioned in that post that the… Continue Reading
The Ease (Or Unease) Of Doing Business In China. A Stagnant China.
Posted in China BusinessThough the World Bank’s Doing Business Report for 2011 has already been out for a few months, I just saw a really good analysis of it today. The analysis is in the Fiducia Management Consultants’ “China Focus” Newsletter and it can be found here. Though I have never worked with Fiducia directly, I have heard good… Continue Reading
Win-Win Negotiating In China. It Is More Than A Panda.
Posted in China BusinessEvery time I go to China, I come back planning to write an excoriating post on the place. I mean, let’s face it, it is one of the (if not the) most exasperating places on earth. I found it even more exasperating this last time because before hitting China, I spent two and a half… Continue Reading
How Not To Get Kidnapped In China, Part 2. Resolve Your Debt Problems Before You Go.
Posted in Legal NewsA few weeks ago, a reader e-mailed me with an article regarding the jailing in Shanghai of California businessman Brian Horowitz over a debt he (his company?) allegedly owed a Chinese company. I have been assiduously following the case in the press for many reasons. First, cases like this could prove very important to my… Continue Reading
The Death Of The China Blog Has Been Greatly Exaggerated. The Eight Leading China Blogs By Readership.
Posted in Recommended ReadingReceived an interesting email the other day from a loyal reader complimenting us for having maintained our “Alexa ranking” through the “downturn” in blog readership. I then checked our Alexa ranking, which ranking is allegedly based on the number of readers and it looked pretty good, at least as compared with other leading China blogs…. Continue Reading
Current China Law And Business Issues
Posted in China Business, Legal NewsA few weeks ago, Steve and I spoke at AmCham (Beijing) regarding the China legal issues of which SMEs need be aware. After our talk, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Matt Wisla for around 20 minutes. That interview focused on the issues currently front and center for foreign businesses operating in China. … Continue Reading
China’s Campaign Against Corruption
Posted in China BusinessBy: Steve Dickinson Earlier this month the PRC National Audit Office 审计署 issued its first two reports of the year. Report 1 provides the results of a major audit of state owned agencies and banks conducted at the request of the National People’s Congress. Report 2 details 28 court cases involving fraud uncovered during the… Continue Reading
Five Business Challenges For SMEs In China.
Posted in China BusinessRecently came across a very basic but very concise and accurate article setting forth the “five biggest practical challenges for foreign SMEs” doing business in China. The article was written by Anthony Goh and Matthew Sullivan, of US-Pacific Rim International and it is entitled, “The 5 Biggest Challenges Businesses Face When They Expand To China.“… Continue Reading
How To Negotiate With Chinese Companies.
Posted in China Business, Recommended ReadingJust read a really good International Herald Tribune article, entitled, “Avoiding Pitfalls, and Forging Success, in East-West Contract Negotiations.” The article concisely sets out the basic underpinnings of what it takes to succeed in negotiating with Chinese companies. It starts out by emphasizing how Westerners need to be patient: “The first lesson is to understand… Continue Reading
China GDP Growth And What It Means For Your Business.
Posted in China BusinessBy: Steve Dickinson The PRC Statistics Bureau has issued its preliminary report on the status of the Chinese economy [in Chinese] for the year 2010. As the report states, 2010 was “all good” for the Chinese economy. This is a remarkable achievement considering that 2010 was a recovery year from the most significant worldwide recession since 1950…. Continue Reading
China Domain Name Scams. It’s A Scam!
Posted in China Business, Legal NewsIf your company has done anything in China (even just sending someone there to meet with a supplier), you have probably received a somewhat official email offering, at a steep price, to “help” you stop someone from taking your domain name. DO NOT RESPOND. Near as I can tell, every single one of these that… Continue Reading
AmCham-Shanghai’s 2010 Report On China Business — Required Reading
Posted in China BusinessBy Steve Dickinson and Dan Harris The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai just issued its 2010-2011 Business Report. This report should be required reading for all companies doing business in China or who are planning to do business in China. Our good friends over at Technomic Asia co-authored the report. The report is based… Continue Reading
China Business After The Hu-Obama Summit. Same-O, Same-O.
Posted in China BusinessThough we do not ordinarily delve much into China-US politics, I have been following the recent Obama-Hu summit so closely I cannot resist. Here are my thoughts on the business aspects of that summit. Overall, things have seemed to go well. The United States did the pomp and circumstance thing in grand style, which gave… Continue Reading
China Rare Earths Quotas — The Facts And The Law
Posted in China Business, Legal NewsBy Steve Dickinson The purpose of this post is to provide a factual and legal background to China’s export quota program for rare earths. The Facts Rare earths are one of 49 products for which China imposes export quotas. Other products for which China imposes export quotas include grains such as corn and wheat, hydrocarbons such… Continue Reading
China Opening Up Health Care For WFOEs
Posted in China Business, Legal NewsAs regular readers of this blog know, my favorite five industries for foreign investment in China are education, healthcare, food, cleantech/greentech, and software. Healthcare just got even better. The Chinese government has made clear for some time that it seeks to improve healthcare in China and it recently took another step in that direction by announcing… Continue Reading
What To Do About Chinese Companies Taking Your IP?
Posted in Legal NewsLast week, co-blogger Steve Dickinson and I spoke at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Beijing. From our perspective, the best part of our talk were the excellent questions posed to us by the reporters in attendance. There was one question I pretty much punted on and though I have thought much about it since, I… Continue Reading
What About Chinese Companies Taking Your IP?
Posted in China Business, Legal NewsLast week, co-blogger Steve Dickinson and I spoke at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Beijing. From our perspective, the best part of our talk were the excellent questions posed to us by the reporters in attendance. There was one question I pretty much punted on and though I have thought much about it since, I… Continue Reading
What Every SME Needs To Know About Chinese Law. AmCham Beijing, January 11, 2011
Posted in EventsCo-blogger Steve Dickinson and I will be speaking on January 11 at the next AmCham Small Business Forum Event breakfast here: AmCham-China Conference Center The Office Park, Tower AB, 6th Floor No. 10 Jintongxi Road, Beijing, 100020, PRC Tel: (8610) 8519-0800 Our topic will be ”What every SME needs to know about Chinese Law.” You can… Continue Reading
The Five Steps To Successfully Buying Product From China.
Posted in China BusinessCo-blogger Steve Dickinson and I had a wonderful dinner the other night with Renaud Anjoran. Renaud Anjoran is the founder of Sofeast, a quality assurance firm that assists small- and-medium importers with China quality control. Renaud has been based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen since 2006. He writes the Quality Inspection Tips blog, of which I… Continue Reading
Minimum Capital Requirements. Good News For Small Companies Looking At Shanghai.
Posted in Legal NewsBy: Steve Dickinson Shanghai has recently loosened its minimum capital requirements for WFOEs (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises), making location of service businesses in Shanghai far more attractive. Chinese company law mandates all one shareholder corporations have a minimum registered capital of at least RMB100,000. The WFOE formation regulations provide for no specific amount for registered… Continue Reading
China Inflation And The Impact On Your Business
Posted in China BusinessBy: Steve Dickinson There are two related economic issues that are of primary importance to ordinary Chinese people. The first is the inflation in prices of basic necessities such as housing and food. The second is the lack of wage growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. Today’s China Daily (January 4, 2011) featured five… Continue Reading
China Law Blog In Shanghai Today.
Posted in UncategorizedCo-blogger Steve Dickinson and I will be in Shanghai today. If you are interested in meeting with us, please contact us by pressing the contact button above and sending an email.
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