Gansu Province, Qinghai Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China have a long history and rich resources. They are China’s “green barriers” and bases for agricultural and energy reserves. With infrastructure construction, new energy and new materials, digital economy, new agriculture and other sectors booming, this region will advance its future development that promises to be green, digitalisation and open, bringing more opportunities for the legal sector.

In early June, Shanghai finally relaxed its strict COVID control measures, measures that had been in place for more than two months. These allowed for production of goods and international shipping to resume. Given Shanghai’s important role in the global supply chain and its status as a major shipping hub in China, the lockdown has had far-reaching effects, once again bringing the issue of supply chain resilience back to the public eye.

Shandong Province enjoyed steady economic growth in the past year, with its GDP exceeding 6 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of 2021,.and the province has had a number of growth highlights as it transitions from old growth drivers into new ones. Lawyers from Jinan and Qingdao share with ALB their observations on upcoming opportunities brought about by this economic transformation. 

As the Year of the Tiger opens, partners at domestic and international firms in China share with ALB the lessons they have learnt from 2021, and how they will use those to navigate market changes. They also discuss their strategies to attract and retain talent, their observations of the profound changes taking place in China’s legal industry, and their outlook for the coming year. 

Shanghai-headquartered AllBright Law Offices has opened an office in Singapore, the firm’s fourth overseas outpost after Hong Kong, London, and Seattle.

China’s dynamic finance industry has been evolving rapidly in the past year or two in the face of increasing regulatory scrutiny as well as the growing impact of technology. Legal department heads say that while the current landscape poses certain challenges, it also brings with it a number of distinct opportunities that in-house teams are helping their companies take advantage of.   

The successive defaults of large companies such as Boashang Bank, Yongmei Group, Huachen Automotive and Tsinghua Unigroup recently sent shockwaves across the market. Restructuring lawyers discuss the defaults, how they feel the Chinese government will ensure orderly bankruptcy proceedings in the future, and how they are preparing for more cases in the coming year.

In early November, Ant Group’s planned $37-billion blockbuster dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong was brought to a halt by financial regulators. In the same day, Chinese regulators also published draft rules to boost the oversight of online micro-lending.

The Pearl River Delta, with Guangzhou located at its centre, was once dubbed “the world's factory floor”. However, with COVID-19 casting a shadow over the manufacturing industry, the city is beginning to embrace new industries.

On Aug. 21, a group of WeChat users in the U.S. officially filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s executive order banning the usage of this app from Sept. 20. On Sept. 17, the federal court of San Francisco will hold the first hearing on a preliminary injunction concerning enjoining the government from enforcing the order.