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On 23 March 2022, China’s National Development and Reform Committee and National Energy Administration released a plan on the development of hydrogen energy for 2021-20351 (“Plan”). As the first national-level industry plan for hydrogen development, the Plan recognizes hydrogen as a major component of China’s future national energy system, an important carrier for realizing green- and low-carbon transition to the net-zero economy, and a key direction of China’s strategic emerging industries.

In 2008, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal issued a landmark judgment in Koon Wing Yee v Insider Dealing Tribunal deciding that if a regulator is seeking a financial penalty, the individual or company being investigated is, for human rights purposes, facing a criminal charge and entitled to fundamental Bill of Rights protections.

Hong Kong’s competition law was being drafted at the time. The enforcement framework and law were fundamentally rewritten because of Koon. The Administration said that appropriate criminal safeguards, including fair trial, protection against self-incrimination and standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, must be in place both during investigation and trial to meet the requirements of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. In 2019, in the first case to come to trial, Hong Kong’s Competition Tribunal agreed.

As global and regional integration increases, multinational companies ought to navigate numerous custom-related complexities and challenges imposed by relevant authorities in any jurisdiction. This webinar series provide an in-depth coverage of legal frameworks, practical issues and key trends and developments surrounding customs audits in select Asia Pacific jurisdictions.

Bilateral trade between China and Africa is increasing year on year. While COVID lockdowns have resulted in logistics bottlenecks, trade between the two regions has not been severely impacted, especially in terms of exports from Africa into China. China has continued to import African agricultural goods and raw materials, with food security and materials needed for the energy transition considered to be a priority. The ties between these two regions continue to strengthen, and are expected to be further bolstered as free trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area takes hold.

The Supreme People’s Court has identified certain relevant factors when assessing such agreements from an antitrust perspective. The Chinese entity of a multinational medical device manufacturer was fined RMB 9.12 million for RPM, representing 3% of its 2020 total China-wide revenue. The antitrust authority will be stepping up oversight over the platform economy, technology development, data security and livelihood sectors such as utilities, healthcare and medicine.

On 22 March 2022, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China issued Draft Implementation Rules of the Administrative Regulations on Human Genetic Resources for public comments until 21 April 2022. The Draft Rules provide clarifications and operational details on the Administrative Regulations on Human Genetic Resources promulgated in 2019.

The Guide to Doing Business in China provides an introduction to selected aspects relating to investment and business operations in the People’s Republic of China under current Chinese laws and policy during the COVID pandemic, including a summary of important areas of concern to all investors in China: mergers and acquisitions, data privacy issues, antitrust and competition issues, taxation, employment, intellectual property protection, trade and import and export rules, financial services, as well as anti-bribery compliance and dispute resolution issues.