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

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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 this article

The United States Approach to Foreign Sovereign Immunity

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Image: George Hodan, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Written by Judge John M. Walker Jr., a senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, this article provides an overview of the U.S. approach to foreign sovereign immunity. First, it traces the doctrine’s origins in early American jurisprudence and recounts the development of the doctrine and its eventual codification in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) of 1976. The article then summarizes relevant provisions and certain judicial interpretations of the FSIA.Read this article

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

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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 this article

Priorities of the BRICS Under Russia’s Leadership

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Image: Claudette Gallant, Disobedient Dolls
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Russia began its one-year BRICS presidency on January 1 and quickly convened a meeting, at which “increasing the proportion of national currencies in mutual settlements” was identified as an important task for the BRICS. Russia’s interest in reducing the world’s reliance on the U.S. dollar is widely known. Will the country succeed in accomplishing this goal during its BRICS presidency? The answer, as explained in this issue of SinoExpress™, depends on whether Russia will be able to leverage the support of existing BRICS members to attract a large number of countries to join the organization.Read this article

How a Trademark Case Helps Illuminate China’s NEW Patent Rules

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Image: Anthony Nava, Blue, Red, and Green Gears (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s reduction of the reserve requirement ratio for all banks beginning from February 5 is expected to help revive the economy by injecting more cash into the banking system. Another measure that is likely to help improve China’s economy but seems to have drawn little attention outside the legal community is the release of a set of revised rules to implement China’s Patent Law. If applied effectively, these revised rules have the potential to strengthen China’s patent protection mechanism, making the country more appealing to foreign investors.Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: Alix Lee, Liberty Plaza CKS Memorial;
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This issue of SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, covers how Taiwan’s third party, i.e., the Taiwan People’s Party, has secured from last Saturday’s election an influential position that may empower its leader, KO Wen-je, to have important dialogues with Beijing. The issue also highlights little known U.S.-China high-tech collaborations, which evoke optimism that the two countries may be able to accomplish more together in 2024.Read this article

China’s “One Website, Two Databases” Approach to Judicial Transparency, Reform, & Consistency

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Image: Freddy Dendoktoor, Mandala Background Pattern Mosaic
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To alleviate growing concerns about the future of a key website used by Chinese courts to publish millions of judgments, the Supreme People’s Court took an unusual step recently not only to confirm the continued operation of the website, but also to announce the establishment of two new databases. With the two databases, the Chinese judiciary will be able to formulate data-driven judicial reform measures and increase judicial consistency. While the databases help address deficiencies of the website, it is worth noting that the website—an indispensable platform to safeguard judicial transparency—plays a unique role in enhancing the value of these databases.Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: Jean Beaufort, Oil Pump Jack;
Joshua Kim, Father and Daughters on Hanoi Street;
Circe Denyer, Computer Chip Technology Hardware;
Axelle B, Smartphone (Publicdomainpictures.net)

This issue of SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, covers how Guyana’s economic and diplomatic might will likely cause China to become more involved in helping settle the Venezuela-Guyana dispute, why a pioneering move recently taken by Singapore could benefit China and Vietnam, what criticisms Germany’s subsidies for its semiconductor industry have drawn, and what Foxconn’s recent expansion plan in India really means.Read this article

In Brief

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

The OpenAI drama made my preplanned talk on AI legal tools delivered last Friday to a delegation of Chinese lawyers visiting Washington D.C. unexpectedly timely. The firing and re-hiring of CEO Sam Altman inspired in-depth discussions of opportunities and concerns related to these tools. In the case of China, the Chinese leadership may come to the conclusion that the opportunities presented by these tools outweigh the concerns and move to take steps that can directly help develop more reliable AI legal tools and indirectly bring about effective legal reforms in the country.Read this article

SinoInsights

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Image: George Hodan, Food Labels (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The Supreme People’s Court has established an impressive framework to facilitate the use of Guiding Cases but has not given clear guidance on how to handle inconsistent applications of a Guiding Case by Chinese courts. In this article, the authors analyze the inconsistent applications of Guiding Case No. 60 by several important courts in China, discuss potential problems associated with such inconsistency, and propose solutions to these problems.Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: Linnaea Mallette, Windmill Farm;
Tom Ffiske, Woman On Grass With VR Headset;
Jônatas Ferreira Jona F, Panama Canal;
Mark Yang, Singapore Sea Lion and Skyline (Publicdomainpictures.net)

This issue of SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, covers why California is well-placed to reap benefits brought by the Biden-Xi meeting, how the Metaverse brings China and Meta closer, what challenges the Panama and Suez Canals present to trade, and Singapore’s insights about Asia.Read this article

China’s “Belt and Road” Action Plan

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In his speech delivered at the recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Chinese President XI Jinping emphasized the need to “keep in mind the people’s expectations”. He also announced eight actions that China will take to support the “high-quality” development of the Belt and Road Initiative (“BRI”). What expectations do people in BRI partner countries have for the initiative? Do the eight actions announced by China have the potential to align well with these expectations?Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: Ken Kistler, Sun and Young Corn Stalks;
chiplanay X, Muslim Mosque Eid Ramadan Faith;
Alix Lee, Liberty Plaza Gate;
icon0 com, Panda In ChiangMai Zoo, Thailand (Publicdomainpictures.net)

This issue of SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, covers China’s preparation for global conflicts, the launch of 5.5G networks in the Middle East, a new poll in Taiwan, and the impact of panda diplomacy on strengthening China’s relations with South Korea and Japan.Read this article

In Brief

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Image: Petr Kratochvil, Apartment Building Pattern (Publicdomainpictures.net)

How courts in China handle cases involving struggling real estate developers will affect foreign investors’ confidence in the entire Chinese market. The Supreme People’s Court recently highlighted the enforcement of a series of cases involving a real estate developer. These cases provide indications illuminating how courts in China are expected to follow suit to achieve “good political, social, and legal effects”.Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: George Hodan, Nuclear Sign;
Theodore Palser, Electric Hexagon Background;
Liliane Souza, City of Rio De Janeiro;
Fran Hogan, Banana Delivery Truck (Publicdomainpictures.net)

This issue of SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, covers China’s new Foreign State Immunity Law, the Global South’s technological initiatives, and China’s relations with Brazil and Central American Countries.Read this article

In Brief

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icon0 com, China Flag Themes Idea (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Is there any chance for a private enterprise to win a lawsuit against a state-owned enterprise or a government agency in China? In an apparent attempt to boost confidence in the Chinese market, the Supreme People’s Court of China has signaled an affirmative answer to this question by releasing two court cases. Will the positive treatment of private enterprises, as demonstrated in these two cases, become a norm?Read this article

SinoForum&Foresight

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After identifying poverty and conflict as two most noticeable global human rights problems in the world today, Professor Wang Lifeng explains how China aims at working together with countries around the world to find solutions to tackle these two major problems.Read this article

SinoExpress

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Images: Jennifer Olschefski, Fractal Tech Disc Background;
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Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Chatting And Using Emoji (Publicdomainpictures.net)

SinoExpress™, a monthly newsletter of SINOTALKS®, has nearly 1,100 subscribers. This issue covers tech investments in China, rice production in Africa, health care in the Soloman Islands, and the use of emojis.Read this article

In Brief

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Image: Kai Stachowiak, Business (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The Chinese leadership just released a document to reaffirm the value of private enterprises and to urge the implementation of actions that will help address a wide range of problems facing these enterprises. Will this lead to a new wave of entrepreneurship mirroring the success of earlier waves that gave rise to well-known companies such as Tencent?Read this article