For the first time, the State Council has offered substantive legal parameters for the growth of China's burgeoning domestic private sector. The Opinion issued by the State Council brings the legal status of local private enterprises closer to that enjoyed by state and foreign-owned companies. Despite this, there is still more to be done to make China's private sector globally competitive.
Pending the State Council's release of regulations concerning the handling of copyright infringements over the internet, the National Copyright Administration and Ministry of Information Industry has released its own Procedures in this regard. Though these are helpful in handling the burgeoning number of copyright internet infringement cases, they are not without problems.
As China's property market continues to advance, the shift from a state-centric to a market-orientated land transaction system has predictably given rise to numerous disputes. These latest Interpretations issued by the Supreme People's Court clarify the handling of disputes regarding state-owned land use rights, thereby furthering reform of the system.
Despite its status as one of the world's fastest growing nuclear energy providers, China lacks a comprehensive body of law dealing with civil liability for nuclear incidents. Such liability is currently dealt with under what may be considered a normative document issued by the State Council in 1986. Though this document is in-line with international conventions on nuclear civil liability, questions remain as to whether its legal basis can be relied on through future development in the industry.
As the principal market for strategic acquisition investments, Chinese outbound investments face a rigorous approval process with the US increasingly wary of foreign investment in knowledge-based industries in the post-September 11 world.
With a view towards improving mainland employers' incentive processes for employees, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have jointly issued a new Circular clarifying tax treatment and liabilities surrounding stock option schemes of listed companies.
China's capital market is certain to benefit from the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the People's Bank of China's joint release of new Procedures on the securitization of credit assets. Limitations remain, however, concerning the types of institutions that can originate securitizations and the types of assets that can be securitized.
After failed attempts in 1999 and 2001, China is again taking the necessary but daunting step of integrating its non-tradable state-owned shares with those that are tradable. Could this be the catalyst that the mainland IPO and restructuring markets need?
China has made considerable efforts in overhauling its IP legal regime since the country's accession to the WTO in 2001. Still it will be some time yet before these reforms transpire into meaningful ground-level improvements in the enforcement of IP rights.
On January 11 2005, the Beijing Higher People's Court released the Determination of the Liability for Damages for Copyright Infringement Guiding Opinions (Guiding Opinions). The Guiding Opinions are China's first official opinions specifically dealing with the issue of compensation for copyright infringement.