Dialogue with other governments’ admin procedures urgently needed

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Aug. 29 - With the recent problems over the issuance of visas to China both before and now following the Olympics, it has become increasingly apparent that China’s national administration infrastructure is both subject to regional interpretations and a lack of international dialogue over the processing of information. Indeed, an assumption that all other countries follow the same administrative procedures as China is overwhelmingly obvious. It’s a cycle that needs to be changed.

China’s problem is two fold. Firstly, it is not unreasonable for China to start to clamp down on the issuance of visas, when for so long the process has been abused by foreign nationals. That abuse, which led in the main to foreign nationals effectively working in China without declaring taxes or obtaining proper documentation, has also led to a rash of fraud, embezzlement and security concerns. (more…)

Aug. 28 - Public Security Bureau sources close to Dezan Shira & Associates have indicated that additional requirements for the issuing of working visas in China have been put in place. These could include a certification of “no criminal record” to be issued by immigration agencies of foreign governments, on which an official statement must be obtained certifying the visa applicant has no prior criminal convictions in his home country. Details to the extent of this documentation, applicable levels of criminal offense, or how it applies to long term residents of other countries, have yet to be worked out.

While China is expected to relax business visa issuance shortly after the completion of the Paralympics, the issuing of work visas will become even more more stringent, according to the source, while the length of time foreign visitors stayed in China on business visas and on tourist visas in the country will be more closely monitored for abuse. (more…)

Aug. 15 - Our new Technical Guide to China IPR has just been published and is available now, priced US$25 plus p&p from sales@china-briefing.com or via our online bookstore.

The book, the seventh and latest addition to our expanding and highly popular series on China legal and tax matters, was produced in association with Austria Wirschaftsservice—the Austrian Federal Bank—whose specialist, Shanghai-based IPR unit combines investigation, patent attorneys and other legal professionals in China to assist their client’s IPR needs. That knowledge, gained over decades of work on the mainland, has now been condensed into a six chapter, English language work with the following sections:

An introduction to IPR in China
Importance of IPR in China
Historical development
Recent trends in China IPR policy

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Aug. 6 – The State Council has released the first set of specific guidelines for the new Anti-Monopoly Law which took effect August 1.

The regulation requires mergers and acquisitions with a total global revenue of more than RMB10 billion or a China revenue of RMB2 billion to report to authorities.

The law also covers deals made by two or more companies each reporting more than RMB400 million of China revenue in the past year.

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Aug. 1 - China’s new anti-monopoly law is set to take effect today. The law hopes to protect market competition by regulating price-fixing and other forms of collusion, and providing for investigation and prosecution of such practices.

The law will prohibit three kinds of monopoly acts: reaching monopolizing agreements; abusing a dominant market position; and concentration of business operations that which may exclude or restrict competition.

Sources speculate that the new law will change the way business is done in the country. After more than a decade of negotiations, it will allow national security reviews of foreign investments, protection of key Chinese industries while granting authorities discretion.

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SHANGHAI, July 30 –The municipal government of Shanghai has announced new regulations in an effort to urge more top multinational companies to establish regional headquarters in the city.

The regulations will qualify a newly registered company to get funding from the Shanghai government during its start-up period and preferential rental policy. In addition, it will allow high-level foreign managers to apply for permanent residency status.

These companies will also be given expedited service in terms of work permits for both their foreign and domestic employees. To qualify as a regional headquarters, the company should have the comprehensive functions of operation management, capital management, research and development, sales, logistics and support service.

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By Helen Liu

July 25 - Due to RMB appreciation as well as the large amounts of hot money illegally flowing into China, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has released new regulations to further control the movement of foreign exchange. The regulations, released on July 2, 2008, will seriously affect businesses cash flow in China. To put it simply, companies must now make a profit in China or else the face the danger of not having enough funds to run their business.

The key points of the regulations are summarized below.

Receiving funds from overseas
1. Each company must open a “holding bank account” to receive all funds from overseas. Any transferring of funds out from this account must be approved by the bank. (more…)

July 25 - In November 2007, the Ministry of Finance and the China Appraisal Society jointly announced an asset appraisal standards system, comprising 15 appraisal standards.

The standards system comprises two parts: professional ethics standards and business standards. The business standards are classified into four categories: basic standards, detailed standards, valuation guidelines, and guiding opinions. (more…)

July 8 - Over the last two months, China has tightened up its visa policies, drawing widespread concern from the business communities across China and in Hong Kong. Tourist visas now require round-trip air bookings and confirmed reservations at hotels in the destination city, students are having trouble obtaining visas to study in Beijing, and investors of all types have seen their F visa status weaken as round tripping to Hong Kong for renewal is now prohibited. The latest visa procedures to receive this tightening is the chief representative visa.

In the past, it was often common practice for a chief representative to arrive in China on an F visa, and then have their documentation and visa status changed in-country. According to the Public Security Bureau, that is no longer acceptable. Chief representatives must now obtain a Z visa in their home country before coming to China if they are a planning on residing in the country.

The procedure, and approximate time, for obtaining a visa as a chief representative is as follows (please note that these procedures do not apply to those from Macau, Hong Kong, or Taiwan): (more…)

July 4 - China is implanting a new system to control the inflow of speculative funds from abroad.

The rules state that starting from July 14, it will be mandatory for companies to provide evidence to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange for verification.

Exporters will be required to park their export receipts in temporary verification accounts till they are cleared as genuine trade revenue, according to a statement issued by the SAFE, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs.

The new rules are aimed at stopping overseas traders from inflating their invoices to bring in more foreign money, a common way of pushing overseas speculative capital into China. (more…)