Lunar Time and the BRICS’s Space Ambitions

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Victoria Borodinova, Planet, Solar System, Comet, Space, Sky (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The U.S.-China race to set a standard lunar time has captured global attention. Standardizing lunar time is, however, only the first step. The real race lies in whether any time set by the United States or China can be applied effectively to space operations from which other countries can benefit. If other countries see results, this will ensure their sustained endorsement of the lunar time used in the operations benefiting them. Only with such solid support will the endorsed lunar time become the prevailing standard. China recently rolled out a three-stage plan to apply its timing system to a series of lunar operations. With its space ambitions, the expanding BRICS may be able to help China bring its three-stage plan to fruition and share the fruits of such success. When this happens, China’s lunar time has a good chance to prevail.Read more

Arbitration and China’s Global Business

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Linnaea Mallette, Shipping Port (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The growing importance of global business to China makes it crucial for the country to show its commitment to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards. Since 1987, China has been a contracting state of the New York Convention, which requires each contracting state to ensure that its judiciary recognizes and enforces an arbitral award made in another contracting state, unless such recognition or enforcement would be contrary to the contracting state’s “public policy”, among other exceptions. The convention does not interpret the “public policy” exception. How the Chinese judiciary interprets it directly influences foreign parties’ level of confidence in doing business with China. A recent court case in China sheds light on the interpretation of this exception.Read more

China’s Education and Africa-East Asia Relations

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Category: SinoExpress™

Images: Linnaea Mallette, Graduation Cap;
Dawn Hudson, Silver Map (Publicdomainpictures.net)

President XI Jinping recently outlined ten partnership actions for China and Africa to jointly take in the next three years. Focusing on advancing modernization, these actions will likely motivate young Africans to pursue education in China to acquire related knowledge and skills and to build strong China-Africa networks. Trends revealed by a recent study suggest that furthering education in China may produce additional results for young Africans: their interactions with growing East Asian student communities in China will also prepare them well to become effective intermediaries between Africa and East Asia, as the latter actively seeks to tap into Africa’s tremendous potential.Read more

Key Talks in 1992, Court Cases in 2024, and “New Quality Productive Forces”

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Mikhail Denishchenko, Production Technology (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Coined by President XI Jinping in 2023, the term “new quality productive forces” is of great significance because related reforms, with reference to various types of investment, have been identified by the Chinese leadership. Key talks given in 1992 by the late reformist leader DENG Xiaoping and select court cases recently released by China help illuminate the meaning of the term. Actions taken by the courts in these cases to support the development of “new quality productive forces” allow investors to better assess related opportunities.Read more

The Olympics, Overseas Chinese, & Foreign Laws

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Gerd Altmann, Hurry Up (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s impressive performance during the 2024 Summer Olympics has heightened many overseas Chinese’s interest in their own Chinese roots. This will likely boost their fascination with opportunities emerging from China, whose economy the IMF predicts will grow 5% in 2024. Beijing should, therefore, be motivated to step up its efforts to effectively engage overseas Chinese, who have been perceived by Beijing as important bridges connecting China with the rest of the world. Coincidentally, the Supreme People’s Court’s new initiative regarding the ascertainment of foreign laws can help engage overseas Chinese effectively.Read more

China’s Third Plenary Session: Implications for Strengthening Deterrence of Accounting Violations

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Axelle B, Euros Handshake (Publicdomainpictures.net)

“Strengthening the regulation of listed companies” and “improving the mechanism for protecting investors” are among the many reform tasks identified in the widely anticipated decision adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on July 18, 2024. While China’s newly amended Accounting Law may help accomplish these goals, a case decided by the Supreme People’s Court suggests that additional measures are required.Read more

Hong Kong’s Land Leases & Asia’s Prosperity and Stability

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Category: SinoExpress™

Images: Jean Beaufort, Travel Poster;
Yinan Chen, Hong Kong City Buildings (Publicdomainpictures.net)

In early July, a new Hong Kong law extended nearly 400 land leases in the formerly British-governed city for another 50 years, making the leases go beyond June 30, 2047—the critical date marking the potential expiry of the Beijing-approved governance system operating in the city since its handover to China in 1997. More leases are expected to be extended in the same manner. If the extension of these leases—which has broad implications—is handled well, Beijing will be able to significantly contribute to the prosperity and stability of not only Hong Kong, but also Asia.Read more

China’s Promotion of Case-Based Legal Reasoning in the BRICS

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Images: George Hodan, Judge Gavel;
Maliz Ong, Black and White Brick Wall (Publicdomainpictures.net)

In 2018, I co-authored an article titled Propagation of a Case Culture in China and Potentially Beyond.  Based on an analysis of how 96 Guiding Cases, de facto binding cases released by China’s Supreme People’s Court available at the time, had been referenced in 1,281 subsequent cases decided by courts across the country, my co-authors and I drew this conclusion: “the preliminary success of [Guiding Cases] seems to have provided fertile ground for the propagation of a case culture in China and, given the country’s eagerness to increase its presence around the world, this culture may have a chance to be propagated elsewhere.”  Just such an opportunity for China to propagate a culture of applying case-based legal reasoning in the BRICS arose in mid-June.Read more

India’s Election Results & Central China’s “Accelerated Rise”

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Category: SinoExpress™

Images: Gerd Altmann, Colorful India;
Peter Griffin, Afternoon Lunch (Publicdomainpictures.net)

A key lesson from the failure of Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (“BJP”) to secure a majority in the lower house of India’s parliament and to sustain its popularity in traditionally pro-BJP states is the pressing need to solve the issue of economic inequality in India. Mr. Modi faces mounting pressure to deliver during his third term as India’s Prime Minister a strong economic performance to those who have not yet benefited from India’s progress. Similar challenges are being faced by Chinese leaders, who are rolling out new measures aimed at supporting the “accelerated rise” of Central China. Given India’s growing competition with China, how China plans to accomplish this goal should be of significant interest to India and its allies.Read more

WeRide Zooms into the Global Autonomous Vehicle Industry

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Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Petr Kratochvil, Busy Road Light Trails (Publicomainpictures.net)

After BYD announced that it has licenses to test Level-3 (i.e., “conditional automation”) autonomous driving on high-speed roads in China, the company’s ambition to move into the autonomous vehicle industry has become clear. However, BYD’s path to success in this industry is unlikely to be smooth because of competition from WeRide, a forerunner with a strong foundation in the industry. Equipped with Level-4 (i.e., “high driving automation”) technology, WeRide has put into operation multiple innovative products, including Robotaxis, Robobuses, and Robovans. What factors contribute to WeRide’s success? Drawing on her extensive experiences in studying Chinese companies, especially those in the technology industry, and her meetings with specialists who are familiar with the autonomous vehicle industry in China, Lin Liu shares her analysis in this article.Read more

Tesla, Data Transfers, & China’s Digital Economy

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Gerd Altmann, Binary Contacts (Publicdomainpictures.net)

In mid-May, the Lin-Gang Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (“FTZ”) issued trial measures to allow eligible companies in the area—criteria used suggest that Tesla is eligible—to export certain data without going through China’s complicated approval system. Similar measures were adopted by Tianjin’s FTZ in early May, while other FTZs in China are expected to follow suit. These measures can benefit foreign investors in China significantly. Yet, the fundamental goal of their issuance is not a mere increase in domestic foreign investment, but rather the implementation of China’s plan to develop its digital economy globally.Read more

The Moon, Artificial Intelligence, & U.S.-China Relations

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Irina Pechkareva, A Space with the Moon (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s ongoing mission to collect rocks and soil from the far side of the Moon marks another milestone in the country’s space exploration despite its exclusion from U.S. space projects. This accomplishment should make U.S. policymakers ponder whether adopting a similar exclusionary approach will help or hurt the United States’s efforts to secure the lead in the U.S.-China AI race. More importantly, the potential catastrophic consequences of AI manipulation demand a better approach that focuses on generating benefits at a global level, rather than devolving into a simple win-lose race between two international powers.Read more

China’s Courts Give NEW Guidelines on Capital Markets Some Teeth

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Gerd Altmann, Business (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) is “empowered to ensure meaningful oversight of auditors of [China]-based firms”. The Committee should welcome a document recently released by China’s State Council that aims at improving the country’s capital markets by strengthening information disclosure, among other measures. Interestingly, the Supreme People’s Court of China has taken steps that, if followed consistently by all courts in the country, can empower this document.Read more

China’s Policy for Central Asia: Lessons from Southeast Asia & More

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Svetlana Tikhonova, Bukhara, Uzbekistan (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The recent establishment of the Secretariat for the China-Central Asia Mechanism represents a key step taken by China as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, to “comprehensively promote [their] cooperation”. China has expressed its wish to “bring more benefits to the people” of the five Central Asian nations. This wish is especially welcome amidst the world’s growing concerns that poverty and social marginalization might have contributed to the rise of terrorist activities in Central Asia. How can China turn this wish into reality? A recent survey showing Southeast Asians’ unprecedented level of support for China provides some useful lessons for reference.Read more

China’s Top Court Frees “Several” Birds with One Key

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Linnaea Mallette, Mountain Landscape Illustration (Publicdomainpictures.net)

A little-known Q&A tool used within China’s court system since 2023 was recently brought to the spotlight. With its promising performance, the tool allows China’s highest court to “free several birds with one key”. The far-reaching impact of the tool also lays a solid foundation for China to develop AI-assisted adjudication.Read more

AI & Zambia Put Biden’s “No-Conflict Competition” with China to the Test

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Victoria Borodinova, Chess, Chess Board, Chess Club (Publicdomainpictures.net)

In his State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden asserted that he “want[s] competition with China, not conflict”. With less than eight months before the next U.S. presidential election, President Biden needs to show that he deserves another presidential term to, among other tasks, solidify the country’s leadership in two critical areas: (1) the development and application of advanced technologies, and (2) the establishment of strong ties with foreign countries that are strategically important to the United States. Two recent developments are putting President Biden’s “no-conflict competition” with China to the test.Read more

China’s NEW Law on Foreign State Immunity and Related U.S. Experiences

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Gerd Altmann, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s enactment of the Foreign State Immunity Law marks the country’s formal transition from affording foreign states “absolute immunity” in Chinese courts to restricting the immunity to certain types of lawsuits. This transition is in line with the approach used in the United States, as codified in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”). However, a comparison between China’s Foreign State Immunity Law and the FSIA and related U.S. jurisprudence——as discussed by Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. in an article published by SINOTALKS®——reveals key differences between the two countries’ approaches.Read more