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RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Is Strict Reciprocity Required for Fair Trade?

Mar 14, 2019

Is Strict Reciprocity Required for Fair Trade?

Authors: Daniel C.K. Chow & Ian Sheldon PDF: Is Strict Reciprocity Required for Fair Trade? Abstract The administration of Donald J. Trump has repeatedly claimed that reciprocity is required for “fair” trade. While this concept is not new in US political discourse, the Trump administration’s insistence that strict or absolute reciprocity is required goes beyond any claims made by previous US administrations. By strict reciprocity, the United States means that all trade volume

What Will China Do When Land Use Rights Begin to Expire?

Jul 3, 2017

What Will China Do When Land Use Rights Begin to Expire?

China does not permit the private ownership of land. Instead, private parties may obtain the right to use property for up to seventy years. These parties own the structures on the land but not the underlying real estate. China’s recent economic boom hinges on the success of its real estate market, but the government has not yet addressed three critical questions it must answer soon: Does the holder of a land use right have the ability to renew that right when it expires? If t

Why China Established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank

Jan 19, 2017

Why China Established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank

On January 16, 2016, China officially opened the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for business, representing what might be a seismic shift in economic power from the United States to China. The AIIB creates a challenge to the U.S.- dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), two venerable international financial institutions created at the end of World War II. The World Bank lends money to developing countries to promote economic development, but the

Navigating the Minefield of Trade Secrets Protection in China

Nov 10, 2014

Navigating the Minefield of Trade Secrets Protection in China

The following is excerpted from Professor Daniel C.K. Chow’s article, Navigating the Minefield of Trade Secrets Protection in China (47 Vand. J. Transnat’l L. 1007 (2014)). Read the full article here. Abstract Many Multinational Companies (MNCs) now consider trade secrets to be the most important intellectual property right in China, ahead of patents, trademarks, and copyrights. While trade secrets have become more valuable than ever as a business asset in China, many MNCs al

Criminal Law Pays: Penal Law’s Contribution to China’s Economic Development

May 14, 2014

Criminal Law Pays: Penal Law’s Contribution to China’s Economic Development

China’s rapid rise to become the second largest economy in the world is nothing short of extraordinary. When economic reforms took off in the late 1970s, China had been without formal criminal law for three decades. China’s economic development since the launch of the reform period has occurred directly alongside the development of its criminal law, but the academic literature has failed to ask what role criminal law plays in China’s impressive growth. This Article argues tha

Beyond Regulation: A Comparative Look at State-Centric Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law i

Apr 11, 2013

Beyond Regulation: A Comparative Look at State-Centric Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law i

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often understood as the voluntary actions firms take beyond legal compliance. However, in recent years, governments around the world have also begun to actively promote CSR, reflecting broader governance trends that embrace “soft law,” quasi-voluntary standards, and other novel incentives to move companies toward and beyond minimum regulatory goals. Comparative legal scholarship has only recently begun to consider the intersections of

Sep 21, 2012

Clearing Away the Mist: Suggestions for Developing a Principled Veil Piercing Doctrine in China

It was less than thirty years ago that China stood economically isolated from the rest of the world. Times have certainly changed. Today China’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, and Western businesses are inundating the country to access the abundance of cheap labor. Corporate activity is progressing, yet it was only twelve years ago that China enacted its first corporate law which officially recognized the concept of limited liability. And it was not unti

Jun 28, 2012

Ambivalence and Activism: Employment Discrimination in China

Chinese courts have not vigorously enforced many human rights, but a recent string of employment discrimination lawsuits suggests that, given the appropriate conditions, advocacy strategies, and rights at issue, victims can vindicate constitutional and statutory rights to equality in court. Specifically, carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) have used the 2007 Employment Promotion Law to ground legal challenges against employers who discriminate against them in the hiring

Jun 27, 2012

From Ideology to Pragmatism: China’s Position on Humanitarian Intervention in the Post-Cold War Era

This Article fills a gap in the literature by examining in depth China’s state practice and official pronouncements in respect of nine post-Cold War cases typically cited by academics when considering the international legal status of humanitarian intervention. The majority of today’s commentary and scholarship holds that the People’s Republic of China’s position on sovereignty and intervention remains inflexible and absolutist, much as it was for the PRC’s first four decad