As the ground is shifting, everyone is talking about China now.  I still remember when I was a child, the general public perceived China as a country with a great amount of non-wealthy people, a Communist-minded government, and the Great Wall.  Nowadays, the only thing that remains unchanged is probably the Great Wall.  In actuality, their current political system is somewhere in between socialism and capitalism; China has more people, over 1.3 billion, and the world cannot underestimate the potential of the third largest economy in the world.  With its exponential growth and unlimited potential, China is playing an important role in the world’s economy and this is worth everyone’s attention.

As a US lawyer with a Chinese background, a lot of folks ask me the same question, “what can I do to take advantage of this opportunity?” First of all, this is a broad question with no clear-cut answers.  China is a very big market with its ever-changing, sometimes chaotic, business climate.  Regarding China, the US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, said“Don’t mistake me for being an expert, because I’ve been here for three months … I’ve come to the conclusion that ‘China expert’ is kind of an oxymoron. And those who consider themselves to be China experts are kind of morons.”(1) 

One major strength of China, and its attractive advantage to US businesses is its manufacturing power.  While US businesses are known for their entrepreneurship and innovation, Chinese businesses are good at making things, mostly on a mass-produced scale.  We now see products made in China from toothpicks to high-tech gadgets like IPhone.  A lot of US companies have already set up their factories and contracted with Chinese manufacturers to produce their products in a more cost-effective way.  If a US company wants to outsource its manufacturing operation to China, the first issue which arises is “What business relationship should be adopted?”  China recognizes a number of business vehicles including representative offices, branch offices, equity joint ventures, contractual joint ventures, wholly foreign owned enterprises (WFOE), and holding companies.  For each business, it depends on the business nature, scope, scale, and time horizon, and as lawyers, it is important for us to properly advise our clients which, if any, business relationship is proper for their unique business.  When dealing with Chinese production businesses, it is important to take care of quality control and intellectual property theft.  If you have not been thinking of taking advantage of the great labor power in China, your business might benefit from exploring the possibilities and risks associated with an expansion to China. 

(To learn more about feel free to contact our China Practice Group)
 

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(1)  http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5683374.shtml. The content provided on the referenced website is neither directly associated with the author nor with Exemplar Companies. Exemplar Companies in no way endorses the viewpoint expressed on the referenced website.

随着立场的改变，每个人现在都在谈论中国。我还记得当我还是个孩子，一般大众视中国为一个一个不富裕的国家，一个拥有共产政府量和长城的国家。如今，唯一不变的也许只有长城了。实际上，中国目前的政治制度正介于社会主义与资本主义之间；中国的人口增长，现已超过13亿，而世界亦不能低估中国成为世界第三大经济体的潜力。凭借其迅猛的成长和无限的潜力，中国正在世界经济中发挥重要作用，这值得每一个人关注。

作为一个具有中国背景的美国律师，我身边的人都会问一个问题，“我能利用这一机遇做些什么？。”首先，这是一个没有明确答案的问题。中国的市场不断变化，有时是甚至混乱的，商业氛围非常浓厚。关于中国，美国大使Jon Huntsman说：“不要认为我是一个专家，因为我已经到这里3个月了，而我的结论是’中国专家’本身就是一个自相矛盾的概念。这些认为自己是中国专家的人有点白痴。“（1）

中国一个主要的优势，并因此吸引美国企业的，便是它的制造能力。美国企业以他们的创业和创新精神而闻名，中国企业则是善于大批量生产。我们现在看到中国制造从牙签到像IPhone一样的高科技产品。很多美国公司已经在中国建立了工厂并与中国制造商签订协议生产更具成本效益的产品。如果一家美国公司希望去中国其承包制造业务，第一个产生的问题就是 “应该采用什么业务关系呢？”。中国承认的商务经营包括成立代表处，分行，合资，合作经营企业，外商独资企业（外资企业），及控股公司。每个企业取决于企业的性质，范围，规模和时间范围的不同，并作为律师，重要的是我们需要正确地告诉我们的客户什么样的业务关系对他们来说是合适的。当在与中国生产企业打交道的时候，采取质量控制以及知识产权保护等都是重要的。如果你还没有考虑利用中国的劳动力，你的业务也许会从探索在中国扩张业务的可能性和风险中受益。

请联系我们在中国的事务所以获得更多相关信息。