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

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

Priorities of the BRICS Under Russia’s Leadership

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Category: SinoExpress™

Image: Sergey Golopolosov, Moscow Kremlin At Night (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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 more

In Brief

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Kai Stachowiak, Block Chain (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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

In Brief

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Peter Griffin, Rural China (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s draft rules on online small loan business drew worldwide attention in late 2020 when the regulatory requirements therein were believed to have caused Ant Group’s IPO setback. Will China’s prioritized development of rural areas speed up the adoption of the draft rules, the explicit function of which is to serve, inter alia, “farmers”? Will current restrictions on foreign investment in this area be lifted?Read more

In Brief

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Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: iQoncept (Shutterstock.com)

Three decades ago, China’s decision to develop a “socialist market economy” helped bolster foreign investors’ confidence. Today, if China shows similar determination to bring about positive changes in crucial areas, foreign investors will have strong reasons for feeling optimistic about the Chinese market. One crucial area is the regulation of China’s stock market. China does have regulatory tools to combat irregularities in the stock market. Have these tools been used well? Read more

Guiding Case 109

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Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Kevin Casper, San Jose Costa Rica (Publicdomainpictures.net)

In February 2019, the Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case No. 109 and five other Guiding Cases to illustrate how Chinese courts handled issues related to the country’s Belt and Road Initiative.  Guiding Case No. 109 specifically shows the Supreme People’s Court’s firm adherence to legal rules and principles that protect the value of the “payment on demand” system of independent guarantees.Read more