The Global Legal Services Market
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The global legal services market has been predicted to grow to USD 1,311.63 billion by 2031, with the fastest-growing regions being South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe and it is estimated that their compound annual growth rates will range from 11.1% to 8.9%. What are the implications of these predictions for lawyers and rule-of-law developments in China?Read more
中国一个省份如何逆势实现人口增长
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在中国全国人口下降之际，江西——一个毗邻浙江、福建和广东三个繁荣沿海省份的内陆省份——的人口却逆势增长。江西的成功秘诀是什么？中国其他地区能否从中汲取有用的经验？Read more
How a Chinese Province Gained Population Growth
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Jiangxi, an inner Chinese province neighboring three prosperous coastal provinces, i.e., Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, has defied China’s national population decline to gain population growth. What is Jiangxi’s recipe for success? Can useful lessons be derived from this success and adopted by other regions in China?Read more
我在杭州会议上的主题演讲
上周日，熊美英博士在中国浙江省杭州市举行的会议上发表题为《浙江、案例指导与中国全球经济发展》的主题演讲。这一演讲来得正及时，因为就在同一天，一位党领导到总部位于浙江的阿里巴巴进行调研。此次调研不仅标志着自两年前阿里巴巴面临监管调查以来的首次此类调研，而且发生在习近平主席主持中央经济工作会议仅两天后。该工作会议明确提到支持“平台企业”（例如阿里巴巴）“在引领发展、创造就业、国际竞争中大显身手”。Read more
My Keynote Speech at a Hangzhou Conference
Last Sunday, Dr. Mei Gechlik delivered a keynote speech titled Zhejiang, Case Guidance, and China’s Global Economic Development at a conference held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The speech turned out to be timely as on the same day, a Chinese Communist Party leader visited Alibaba, the e-commerce giant headquartered in Zhejiang. The visit not only marked the first of this type since Alibaba faced serious regulatory investigations, but also occurred only two days after President Xi Jinping chaired the country’s economic working conference, at which China’s “platform enterprises” (e.g., Alibaba) were called upon to “show their talents in leading [the country’s] development, job creation, and international competition”.Read more
China Flexes Its Financial Muscle
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China has signed memoranda of cooperation with Laos, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan to establish RMB clearing arrangements for handling cross-border transactions between China and these countries. Are other countries likely to follow suit and establish RMB clearing arrangements to strengthen their economic relations with China?
中国与老挝、哈萨克斯坦、巴基斯坦等国签署合作备忘录，为处理中国与这些国家的跨境交易建立人民币清算安排。其他国家是否会仿效建立人民币清算安排，以加强与中国的经济关系？Read more
数字人民币的跨境使用与中央银行数字货币的国际竞赛
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在中国和其他三个司法管辖区近日宣布成功测试其区块链驱动的mBridge（“货币桥”）平台之后，国际上争相建立一个平台让许多国家能使用其中央银行数字货币（“央行数字货币”）来安全、高效、廉价地结算跨境交易的情况已经引起了更多关注。中国对货币桥的期望是什么？货币桥的成功是否会促使包括美国在内的其他国家认真考虑自己的央行数字货币计划？Read more
Cross-Border Use of Digital Yuan Contributes to Financial Inclusion
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Following the successful implementation of mBridge, what are the next steps for this pilot project’s development? What useful experiences (e.g., in testing the domestic use of its digital currency, providing related mobile payment services, and setting legal standards) can China share with other countries?
在试行成功之后，货币桥下一步的发展是什么？中国可以与其他国家分享哪些有用的经验（例如，在测试其数字货币的国内使用、提供相关的移动支付服务、制定法律标准等方面）？Read more
Digital Yuan & International Race for Central Bank Digital Currencies
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The race to have a platform through which many countries can use their central bank digital currencies (“CBDCs”) to safely, efficiently, and inexpensively settle cross-border deals has drawn even more attention after China and three other jurisdictions recently announced their success in testing their blockchain-powered platform, mBridge. What are China’s expectations for mBridge? Will the success of mBridge drive other countries, including the United States, to seriously consider their own CBDC plans?Read more
元宇宙、数字经济与中国的战略举措
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自2021年底以来，中国一直在推动元宇宙的发展，并表达加入由智利、新西兰和新加坡于2020年6月签署的《数字经济伙伴关系协定》的强烈意愿。这些努力及其最新进展，以及习近平主席此次出访中亚，都有助于展示中国对未来的战略准备。Read more
Metaverse, Digital Economy, & China’s Strategic Moves
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Since late 2021, China has been pushing the development of the Metaverse and expressing its keen interest in joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, which was signed by Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore in June 2020. These efforts and their latest developments, together with President XI Jinping’s current visit to Central Asia, help show China’s strategic preparations for the future.Read more
China is One Step Closer to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement
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The Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (the “DEPA”) Joint Committee formally established a group to examine China’s application to join the agreement. How will the prospects of joining the DEPA further accelerate the development of China’s cross-border e-commerce in Asia, Latin America, and Oceania? Will China’s effort to join the DEPA help bring Chinese law in line with the international standards stated in the agreement?
《数字经济伙伴关系协定》（DEPA）联合委员会正式成立工作组，查考中国加入该协定的申请。加入DEPA的前景将如何进一步加速中国跨境电子商务在亚洲、拉丁美洲和大洋洲的发展？中国为了加入 DEPA而作出的努力是否会有助于中国法律与该协定所规定的国际标准接轨？Read more
China–Europe Freight Trains Are Being Upgraded
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China–Europe freight trains travel along more than 80 routes to connect nearly 200 cities in 24 European countries. In light of the win-win results for China and the countries along the routes, China has vowed to upgrade the service of these trains by establishing “international cooperation networks” and strengthening its support for cross-border e-commerce. What specific measures have been taken or agreed upon?
中欧班列已开通80多条线路，连接欧洲24个国家近200个城市。鉴于中国与沿线国家的双赢结果，中国明确表示会通过建立“国际合作网络”和加强对跨境电子商务的支持来提升这些列车服务的发展。这些国家已采取或商定了哪些具体措施？Read more
中国蓬勃发展的跨境电子商务与
在线争议解决
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尽管中国面临各种经济挑战，但该国的跨境电子商务仍然快速增长。然而，这种增长的种子并不是为了应对新冠病毒疫情的经济困境而无规律地播下的。寻求全球销售的企业若能了解中国跨境电子商务如何获得政府的支持，并明白有哪些最新措施来解决相关争议，将会有助其抓住潜在利润丰厚的机会。Read more
China’s Booming Cross-Border E-Commerce &
Online Dispute Resolution
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Despite various economic challenges facing China, the country’s cross-border e-commerce stands out to show rapid growth. The seeds of this growth were, however, not planted erratically as a response to economic woes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how this type of commerce has gained governmental support and what latest measures have been taken to resolve related disputes helps businesses seeking to sell globally seize potentially lucrative opportunities.Read more
Interview: Tom Tong
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Tom Tong, an international partner of Locke Lord LLP, recently founded Lawmato, an app that enables lawyers to provide online consultation to consumers, including individuals and small businesses, anywhere in the world via the robust audio/video communication capacities of the app. Apart from explaining how Lawmato has the potential to change the legal services industry, Mr. Tong draws on his more than 20 years of experience acting as liaison between U.S. and Chinese firms to share his insights about different challenges in doing deals in China and in the United States.Read more
