76 77 CHAPTER 6 well-known arbitration institutions from Hong Kong and Macao have entered the center to provide services, pooling the legal resources of arbitration in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. 8. CONCLUDING REMARKS Based on the above analysis, the author believes that Hetao Plan fully considers the major problems of cross-border investment, and puts forward very strong innovative solutions and convenient measures, with obvious advantages. Meanwhile, there are some limitations in the Hetao Shenzhen Park at present. For example, some preferential policies are limited to specific industries, and some convenience measures need to be further studied and implemented. Relying on the sound cooperation foundation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, it is imperative to deepen the comprehensive and practical cooperation between the nine cities of the PRD and Hong Kong and Macao. The author believes that the Hetao Cooperation Zone will fully play to its role as a major cooperation platform, promoting the convenient and orderly flow of people, materials, capital and information, and provide new driving forces for the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao. About Tahota Law Firm Tahota was established in May 2000. After more than 20 years of sustained and rapid development, it has become a large-scale comprehensive law firm covering China and connecting the world. In Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, Jinan, Kunming, Lhasa, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong, Xi ‘an, Taiyuan, Xining, Nanjing, Wuhan, Haikou, Urumqi, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Washington, Sydney, Kathmandu and Bangkok and other major domestic and foreign cities set up offices, the strength of each office is in the forefront of the local. insurance, work injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance, and the insurance premiums shall be paid by the employer as well as the employee him/herself pursuant to relevant provisions. In order to facilitate the flow of talents in the Greater Bay Area, the Hetao Plan stipulates that, in accordance with the principle of steady progress and step-by-step implementation, the customs mode of “one-line highly convenient entry and exit” shall be adopted beforehand. When conditions are mature in later, Mainland will cooperate with Hong Kong to explore more convenient policies for entry and exit and residence within the customs supervision area of the Hetao Shenzhen Park. The Hetao Plan also stipulates that it will provide convenience for foreign talents (including foreign Hong Kong residents) to apply for visas and residence certificates, build a comprehensive service platform for international scientific and technological talents, provide “one-stop” service for the introduction of international talents, and facilitate convenience for registered foreigners staying and working in the customs supervision area of the Hetao Shenzhen Park. In addition, in order to enhance the flexibility of the labor market and address the issue of the inconsistent social welfare systems between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Hetao Plan also stipulates that Mainland shall explore and improve the labor contract system in terms of concluding labor contracts with an indefinite term and setting the upper limit of economic compensation in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. For Hong Kong residents who work in the Hetao Shenzhen Park but have participated in local social insurance and continue to maintain social insurance relations in Hong Kong, they can be exempted from participating in basic pension insurance and unemployment insurance in the Hetao Shenzhen Park by presenting certificates issued by relevant authorized institutions. Moreover, employers in Hetao Shenzhen Park will be allowed to purchase Hong Kong Employees’ Compensation Insurance, and the Hetao Plan encourages research and exploration on optimizing the structure of work injury insurance benefits. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION The strength of intellectual property protection in the destination country is another important consideration for cross-border investment enterprises. The Hetao Plan calls for accelerating the establishment of a higher level of intellectual property protection system, including further exploring and improving the intellectual property protection system that is in line with international standards, accurately applying the punitive compensation system, encouraging the settlement of intellectual property disputes through various means such as mediation and arbitration, strengthening intellectual property protection capacity building, and providing one-stop services for Hetao Shenzhen Park. In addition, on the premise that the Hetao Plan does not violate the basic principles of national laws and does not harm national sovereignty, security and social and public interests, Hetao Plan allows Hong Kong enterprises registered in the customs supervision area of Hetao Shenzhen Park to choose the laws of Hong Kong as the governing law resolving contract disputes and to choose Hong Kong as the place of arbitration. In addition to emphasizing the protection of intellectual property rights, the Hetao Plan also focuses on the cross-border transfer of intellectual property rights, proposing that cross-border transfer of intellectual property rights should be explored to form a model of intellectual property securitization that can be used for reference and replicable. 7. DISPUTE RESOLUTION The predictability and convenience of dispute resolution is another important consideration for cross-border investors to choose investment destinations. The issue of dispute resolution is even more prominent in the Greater Bay Area, which is characterized as “one country, two systems and three jurisdictions”. In this regard, the Hetao Plan specifically brings forward that arbitration and mediation organizations as well as top professional service institutions such as law, accounting and human resources will be gathered to provide high-quality services for scientific research activities. Mediation can be described as a dispute resolution mechanism that maximize the reflection of the will of the parties when resolving disputes. For parties from different jurisdictions, mediation can flexibly coordinate the legal rules of different jurisdictions and the requests of different parties, and can better reconcile contradictions and resolve disputes. Hetao International Mediation Center in Shenzhen Futian District (hereinafter referred to as “HTIMC”) was supervised by Shenzhen Futian District Bureau of Justiceas an operational authority, jointly initiated by China Commercial Law Firm,, Guangdong Zhuojian Law Firm, Beijing Yingke (Shenzhen) Law Firm, AllBright Law Offices (Shenzhen),Dentons Shenzhen Office, and Tahota (Shenzhen) Law Firm, and registered under Shenzhen Futian District Bureau of Civil Affairs in April 2022. According to the current mediation rules of the HTIMC, the scope of acceptance of HTIMC includes disputes between natural persons, legal persons and other organizations in intellectual property rights, trade, investment, finance, transportation, real estate, technology transfer, engineering construction and other commercial fields. In addition, in April 2021, the Greater Bay Area International Arbitration Center Exchange and Cooperation Platform was officially established in Hetao Cooperation Zone. So far, eight CHAPTER 6
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