Dear Working Group member,

The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to the next Legal & Competition Working Group meeting + Chair Election. It will be held on Tuesday, 10 March, at the European Chamber Beijing and Shanghai offices via video conference.

At this meeting, Mr. Andrew McGinty,Managing Partner, Shanghai, Hogan Lovells LLP, will present on the draft of the new Foreign Investment Law, which, once approved, will surely bring important changes for 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 and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) just solicited comments on the draft. It is understood that the purpose of this revision is to ensure the system meets with international best practices in foreign investment regulation. However, after a first review of the draft, some doubts have raised and what the final result of the revision will be and how foreign-invested companies will be affected still remains unclear. During his presentation, mr. McGinty will shed some light on what it’s already considered the major reform in the Chinese legal system since the late 90s.

This presentation will set the scene for an initial discussion of the Legal & Competition Position Paper 2015/16. However in order to prepare in advance and better structure the discussion, we would really appreciate it if you could send your feedback on which would be your priorities in terms of Key Recommendations for the Position Paper of this year to Ms. Remei Lluch-Pont at rlluch@europeanchamber.com.cn and Mr. Xavier Sans-Powell at xsanspowell@europeanchamber.com.cn before noon on Monday, 9th March.

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 2015-2016 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 Mr. Xavier Sans-Powell at xsanspowell@europeanchamber.com.cn for Beijing WG, by Monday, 2nd March 2015, 4pm.

Agenda:

- 2015-2016 Chair Elections

- Present on the draft Foreign Investment Law - Mr. Andrew McGinty,Managing Partner, Shanghai, Hogan Lovells LLP

- Position Paper KR discussion

- Discussion on upcoming Working Group activities

 

As always, we welcome your suggestions for possible agenda topics and speakers for this and future meetings.

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