The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to the next Legal & Competition Working Group meeting. It will be held on Thursday, 10 April, 2pm-4pm, at the European Chamber Beijing and Shanghai offices via video conference.
At this meeting, Dr. Carl Hinze, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, will present on the recent amendments to the administrative regulations affecting Foreign-invested Enterprises in China. In line with efforts made by the Ministry of Commerce in recent years on the simplification of foreign investment approval and management, a revision process of the three major foreign investment laws—the Law on Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprises, the Law on Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures and the Law on Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures—has recently been launched. It is understood that the purpose of these revisions is to ensure the three laws meet with international best practices in foreign investment regulation and to better align them with other commercial laws, such as the recently amended Company Law. However, what the final result of these revisions will be and how foreign-invested companies will be affected still remains unclear. During his presentation, Dr Hinze will shed some light on where we are at in the process and the likely path ahead, and will be happy to answer any questions from the audience.
Members will then be invited to propose and agree on the Legal & Competition Key Recommendations for the 2014-2015 Position Paper of the European Chamber. As you may know, the Position Paper is the Chamber’s key lobbying document and is widely recognised by the Chinese and European governments, EU institutions, business associations and the media as the authoritative voice of EU business in China. It is used extensively for policy considerations, bilateral discussions, cooperation projects and background information. The value and importance of a well-written and well-represented Legal & Competition Position Paper cannot be overstated.
Additionally, we will hold 2014-2015 Chair elections. The Legal & Competition Chair and Vice Chairs play a crucial role in driving the Working Group, which includes a leadership role in the drafting of the Position Paper, communicating key messages to Chinese and European government authorities and steering Working Group meetings. The desired characteristics of a Chair and Vice Chairs are a senior industry representative with relevant industry expertise and government contacts who has the time and willingness to support the Working Group. Previous participation in the Working Group is essential. The maximum duration of Chairmanship or Vice Chairmanship of a Group is three consecutive years. Candidates are only eligible for Chair or Vice Chair position if he/she is physically based in China and it is recommended that the member holds the position in the Chapter where he/she is physically based. Only Corporate members of the Chamber are eligible for Chair positions unless specific approval has been obtained from the Chamber’s Executive Committee. Both Corporate and Associate members are eligible to hold Vice Chair positions. For the Legal & Competition Working Group, it is possible to have at most one Chair and two Vice Chairs in each chapter.
Should you be interested in putting your name forward for election, please, firstly, read the attached Working Group Chairs’ Code of Conduct and Roles and Responsibilities documents. To apply, please send a short biography and motivation letter, stating whether you intend to run for Chair or Vice Chair to Ms. Remei Lluch-Pont at rlluch@europeanchamber.com.cn for Shanghai WG and to Ms. Maggie Xie at mxie@europeanchamber.com.cn for Beijing WG, by Friday, 28 March 2014, 4pm.
Tentative Agenda
- 2014-2015 Chair/Vice Chair Elections
- The road to reform: Where are we at with changes to foreign investment regulations in China?
Dr. Carl Hinze, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Discussion on the Legal & Competition Key Recommendations for the 2014-2015 Position Paper
- Discussion on upcoming Working Group activities
In accordance with European Chamber internal guidelines, another email will be sent to the Working Group prior to the election, with the biographies and motivation letters of all candidates attached. Voting for the election, one vote per company, must be conducted in person at the Working Group meeting after each candidate has had the opportunity to give a short speech on why they would like to run for election. The duration of the term for both Chairs and Vice Chairs is one year. All elected Chairpersons must sign the attached Code of Conduct, following election.
As always, we welcome your suggestions for possible agenda topics and speakers for this and future meetings.
We encourage as many of our members as possible to attend to have their say in the leadership and representation of the Working Group in the year ahead. If you would like to attend this meeting, please register here or contact Mr. Yan Fab at yfan@europeanchamber.com.cn by Wednesday, 09 April 2014, by noon, stating whether you will attend in Beijing or Shanghai.
For more information on the Legal & Competition Group or the European Chamber in general, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Remei Lluch-Pont at rlluch@europeanchamber.com.cn in Shanghai or Ms. Maggie Xie at mxie@europeanchamber.com.cn in Beijing.