In this episode, we discuss a landmark case that has become a benchmark in China for reviewing the legality of cross-border processing of personal information. The case provides valuable insights into how data processors should approach compliance when transferring personal information across borders. We explore best practices for collecting data w…

Investing in startups and small and medium-sized businesses can offer significant opportunities, but it also carries legal risks that require attention and preparation. Understanding the associated benefits and risks and taking appropriate steps to manage them can help maximize the chances of investment success and protect investors’ interests. Let…

Following approval by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 29, 2023, the revised Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “New Company Law”) is will take effect on July 1, 2024. This revision marks the most comprehensive and substantial amendment to the Chinese Company Law since its enactment in 1993, nearl…

The AI Act transposes European values to a new era. By focusing regulation on identifiable risks, today's agreement will foster responsible innovation in Europe. "Our AI Act will make a substantial contribution to the development of global rules and principles for human-centric Artificial Intelligence”, this is how Ursula Von Der Leyen - President …

The fashion and luxury market in China remains one of the largest and most dynamic in the world. The Chinese fashion market presents both challenges and opportunities for multinational brands looking to establish a presence in China. To achieve long-term growth and success in China, multinational brands must adapt to the complex regulatory environm…

Cross-border e-commerce (“CBEC”) is an umbrella term for cross-border e-commerce retail imports and exports. Cross-border e-commerce retail import refers to the process whereby consumers in China purchase goods from abroad through a cross-border e-commerce third-party platform operator and transport them into the country using either online bonded …

In the recent years Italy has increasingly attracted the interest of investors who are willing to actively enter the market through the set up of company in Italy or the acquisition of existing entities in various sectors in which Italy has its forte such as fashion, mechanical or automotive sectors, to name a few. Since many years Italy has desire…

China has officially acceded to the Apostille Convention. This will save time and costs for companies and individuals, as foreign documents for use in China will no longer need to undergo multiple rounds of authentication by different authorities. Let's discuss it today. Website: https://www.carlodandrea.it Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAndreaCarlo…

In order to further optimize the Chinese foreign investment environment and attract more foreign investment, China's State Council has issued “The Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Intensifying Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment” (the “Opinions”). These 24 guidelines provide clear directiv…

On July 13th , 2023, the National Internet Information Office and other departments jointly issued the Interim Measures for the Administration of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services ("Measures"), implemented from August 15th, 2023 onwards and putting forward detailed compliancy requirements in terms of content, data and algorithms. It is no…

European companies have long since recognised that China’s R&D ecosystem is increasingly vibrant and has many advantages over the rest of the world. Among the advantages most commonly cited are the number and variety of collaboration partners, as well as inventive scientists and researchers. Wide praise from European investors also extol the size o…

On April 18th, 2023, the European Parliament approved the legislation for the implementation of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as part of the European Union’s (EU) “Fit for 55 in 2030 package”, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55 percent before 2030. From this mammoth legislative change, we have the EU & Chi…

The G20 summit held in Bali, Indonesia between November 15th- 16th was significant in it’s indications on how the most powerful nations of the world aim to tackle the most pressing issues of are time, from geo-political concerns, climate change, digitalization as well as diplomacy amongst the attendants. For China, the trip to Indonesia was one of …

Italy, and Europe more generally, is a global benchmark for the automotive industry as home to several of the world’s largest and most iconic car companies. In this period of economic recovery, following re-openings and the easing of restrictive measures, both the Italian government and foreign companies have decided to focus on this important sect…

The eastern and southern regions of China have long been the traditional powerhouses for foreign investors, leading to a large disparity with more inland regions in terms of market development. China has sought to rectify this imbalance through initiatives such as the Western Region Land-Sea Corridor, Belt and Road projects and the Western Region D…

The Foreign Investment Law (“FDI law”) has been effective since 2020 which has replaced the previous 3 foreign investment related laws and become the new milestone for foreign investment management trends in China. Foreign-invested companies in China have been experiencing a transitional period and may have adopted certain changes to follow the new…

After more than 8 years of implementation of the Vietnam Land Law 2013 (45/2013/QH13), important results have been achieved on land management, with a comprehensive, stable, and practical legal corridor for the exploitation and use of land which laid the foundation of the Vietnamese real estate market and making positive contributions for socio-eco…

It should come as no surprise for international businesses that receiving payments from their Chinese counterparties can be a long and cumbersome process. This is especially relevant for overseas companies that do not have a permanent establishment in China in the form of a foreign direct investment, such as a limited liability company or a joint v…

On 24th June 2022, China’s amended Anti-monopoly Law (AML) was adopted (after more than two years in the making), and took effect on 1st August 2022. This is a notable landmark for the legal sector, as it is the first amendment to the AML since the original law was introduced 14 years ago as China’s first comprehensive competition law. Let's examin…

The European Commission have recently published the proposal for a Directive on Sustainable Corporate Governance, which aims to ensure that the activities of European companies regarding human rights and the environment will be under closer compliancy requirements while also allowing consumers and investors an increased level of transparency. While…

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced a new European Chips Act (The Act) on February 8th, 2022, that will enable 15 billion euros in additional public and private investments until 2030. This is on top of 30 billion euros of public investments that had previously been planned from various sources. Let's discuss it today. W…

The People’s Republic of China is the world’s largest e-commerce market, with over 800 million Chinese netizens on a daily basis and e-commerce transactions reaching 11.76 trillion RMB (equivalent to 1.6 trillion euro) in 2020. These are just a few of the reasons that have driven us to write this new practical guide. In this episode, we will outlin…

Geo-political tensions, strong policy moves and a global pandemic have given rise to shifts in the private equity (PE) market in China for foreign investors, with industry sources reporting a steady decline in new international investors or even divestiture of China holdings. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s discuss it to…

The new Personal Information Protection Law has already entered into effect from Nov 1st, 2021. With personal information data increasingly a hot button topic globally amid cybersecurity investigations into popular apps’ illegal collection and use of users’ personal information, all eyes are fixed on this new Law which will govern the personal data…

Since last year, a string of Chinese internet heavyweights, including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent, JD and Suning.com, have been investigated or fined for alleged monopolistic behavior. On October 8th, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), China’s top market regulator, imposed a huge fine on food delivery giant Meituan for …

Last year, Tencent announced plans to merge Huya and Douyu, however, on July 10th, 2021, The State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) stated that it would block the merger on antitrust grounds. This is a substantial development, as it is the first time the Chinese government has blocked a merger in the tech sector for antitrust reasons, …

With the second version of the draft Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL or the Draft) period for public consultation now closed, and with personal information data increasingly a hot button topic globally amid cybersecurity investigations into popular apps’ illegal collection and use of users' personal information, all eyes are fixed on the …

According to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation by almost a decade. The digital era has come to be. Globally, there has been a push toward more robust rules to protect consumer data and privacy, as well as to safeguard important information from corruption, compromise or loss, and China is no except…

The renewable energy sector of India has been ranked as the third most attractive renewable energy market in the world by the 57th Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index released by Ernst and Young. With the second largest population in the world, India will have an energy demand of approximately 15,820 Terawatt-Hour (“TwH”) by 2040 and unsu…

On June 1st, 2021, the revised Copyright Law came into force. Over the past ten years, the three revised amendments clearly outline the target to create a new law aligned with the digital economy, with an eye on both the global marketplace and the future. The new CL fully strengthens the protection of copyright owners and creators in the new digita…

In the past two decades, the augmentation in the Artificial Intelligence and advanced disruptive technologies sector has played a key role in upscaling the social and economic development in the United Arab Emirates. The AI sector of the UAE has vectored a myriad of advanced projects such as the creation of the Dubai Internet City, the usage of the…

This exclusive 3 - day IDI exhibition will focus on the topic of “Style and Sustainability” and will showcase a splendid collection of internationally acclaimed Italian brands, putting the spotlight on their innovative projects and products combining sustainability with the quality of Italian style. This year’s edition, the third in South-West Chin…

I’d like to announce that I have formally submitted my candidacy as National Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) at the upcoming election on May 27th, 2021 in Beijing. After four years as Chairman of the board of the EUCCC Shanghai Chapter I have realized that there is still a lot more work to be done in the ar…

With the exponential development of the financial and technology sectors, the popularity of virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies has significantly increased in India and throughout the globe. As of March 2021, market experts estimated that the range of cryptocurrency holders in India varies from approximately 6 million to 10 million with their ho…

In March 2020, Anthony Levandowski, a leader in the self-driving car technology in Silicon Valley, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for trade secret theft. He had previously helped develop Google’s self-driving cars and was accused of stealing Google’s trade secrets and using them for Otto, a company he founded after leaving the tech giant. The…

In general, digital currency can be divided into three distinct types, cryptocurrency, virtual currency and central bank digital currency (“CBDC”). Nowadays, when people talk about digital currency in China, the focus is shifting towards CBDC, which is issued by the central bank of the country. Let's discuss it further today! Website: https://www.c…

In China, maintaining good health is a top priority, the country even advocates national fitness, regardless of age, in order to improve both national fitness and health levels. Statistics show that about 400 million Chinese people have daily fitness and exercise habits. In this context, China's fitness market is also booming, especially under the …

The labor market never stops evolving, especially during this critical period of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. Due to the steady decline in the job market and the huge increase in the demand for food and grocery delivery services, the employment rate for this sector has grown by 55% in comparison to data from 2019, according to the B2C e-Commerce…

In the past 5 years, the Government of India has introduced a series of reforms to boost the development of the manufacturing sector. Along with continued policy support, high demand potential, governmental support on the improvement of infrastructure, relaxations in relation to FDI, industry specific policies, incentives and subsidies, it’s no won…

Russian Sberbank (Sber), the largest Russian banking and financial services company with more than 100 million customers, has recently announced its plans to issue its own digital currency named Sbercoin. The bank has also sent an application to the Central Bank of Russia for the approval of Sber’s own blockchain-based digital asset service platfor…

On February 3rd, the Shanghai police announced that after three months of careful investigation they had arrested 14 members of Renren ( The “Chinese Netflix” ) a well-known fan-subtitle group engaged in copyright infringement. The police force brought Renren to justice for their extraordinarily large-scale acts of trans-provincial copyright infrin…

Since 1982, Italy has changed their Prime Minister 21 times, in today’s episode we welcome Mr. Mario Draghi as the new Prime Minister of Italy and we discuss the reasons that brought about this change in the Italian government. We will speak about the Chinese New Year of the Ox traditions and also about the ending of Trump’s second impeachment proc…

On February 2nd, 2021, Tiktok purported that it had filed litigation in Beijing's Intellectual Court against Tencent over alleged monopolistic behavior, with a claim amounting to a sum of RMB 90 million. As one of the most popular Chinese short video apps, Tiktok has approximately 600 million daily active users. Tencent, as one of the biggest socia…

With over 560 Million internet users, India is the second largest online market in the world, ranked only behind China. In its recent report titled ‘Global Internet: E-Commerce's Steepening Curve', Goldman Sach's has reported that the growth rate of the e-commerce sector of India for each of the next four years, would outdo the equivalent of develo…

Litigation between these two parties tells an all too familiar story for foreign brands investing in the Chinese market, in which opportunistic counterfeiters take advantage of the reputation of a brand, imitate their products and ultimately deceive the public with products of inferior quality, which may bring safety hazard to final users.…

After seven years of negotiations (a total of 35 rounds of talks between the parties), the EU and China have reached political approval of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investments (CAI) on December 30th 2020. Lets examine the main aspects.Af Carlo D'Andrea

On December 19th, 2020, The National Development and Reform Commission of China (“NDRC”) and the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) jointly issued the “Measures for the Security of Review of Foreign Investment” (Hereinafter referred to as “the Measures”), which will take effect from January 18th, 2021. The purpose of the Measures is to review foreign …

After lengthy consultations as well as many rumors and leaks, the European Commission recently released two new legislative initiatives: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Both of these acts represent the first major overhaul of E.U. internet legislation in the 21st Century and as part of the new European Digital Stra…

China is India’s second biggest trade partner behind the United States (US), and as a result, India is heavily dependent on China in matters of trade, technology and investment. However, since the spread of COVID-19 in India, the economic and political relations between the two countries have gone through significant changes, with the introduction …

Pudong New Area in Shanghai celebrates its 30th anniversary since the start of its development and opening up. In 1990, the Chinese Government made a decision to transform a rural area of Pudong into a modern, world-class district by transforming it into a ‘new development zone’. The zone was a pioneer of China’s first opening-up policies and refor…