Foreign Investors: All the China Law You Need to Know in Three Sentences

2010-02-13

This short but sweet China law advice from a Canadian lawyer at the Trade Lawyers Blog really says it all. I'm going to use it in the future.

I have told many clients, the laws of China are different than the laws of their home jurisdiction (e.g., Canada). What may not get you into trouble in Canada, may get you into trouble in China. That being said, criminal laws have a significant overlap – what is bad behaviour is generally bad everywhere.

That really nails it as far as I'm concerned. So many clients of mine over the years have failed to understand that China law is different from that of their home jurisdiction, and they blindly move forward with their business regardless. Later on, they discover that many of their assumptions were completely wrong.

At the same time, many foreign nationals come over here and believe that since they are in a "strange" land, they for some reason don't have to follow the same rules pertaining to personal conduct that they would at home. A few that come to mind are public drunkeness, physical assault, and adopting an arrogant attitude when dealing with the police.

Tags: China Law