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China Practice
Our group combines the talent of U.S.-based attorneys with deep experience in international transactions and other international practices with a core group of Chinese attorneys who have foreign degrees in addition to their Chinese qualifications.
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What We Do
Fredrikson & Byron’s China practice has offices in Minneapolis and Shanghai, China’s largest commercial and financial center. We provide a broad range of services to foreign multinational corporations and Chinese companies in their business ventures in and out of China. We assist them in all aspects of setting up Chinese operations: establishment of joint ventures and other investment vehicles; mergers and acquisitions; facilitating agreements; locating business partners (buyers, sellers, suppliers); dealing with tax issues (import/export, duties); real estate transactions; employment and immigration matters; and intellectual property issues (including patents, trademarks and licensing).
In addition, our China team has experience assisting clients with training and issues involving compliance in China, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as well as Chinese and other antibribery laws. In dealing with transactional due diligence, our review of FCPA issues keeps an eye toward litigation with a focus on deal closing. Our team includes both litigation knowledge and experience as well as FCPA experience on due diligence issues from a deal attorney’s perspective. We focus on keeping a consistent process in FCPA review that includes specific risk assessment for each acquisition target and necessary training for management both during and following the acquisition. Our team also assists clients with internal audits and investigations relating to compliance issues and enforcement.
We also offer our Chinese clients guidance on doing business in the United States. For example, we assist in setting up business operations in the United States, including real estate or land acquisition; drafting and negotiating contracts; purchasing assets or stock of U.S. companies; financing (through either private or public offerings); securing licensing agreements; employment issues (immigration, contracts, non-competes, union negotiations, training); dispute resolution; and intellectual property protection and strategy. The firm’s China team provides our clients unique resources that provide an edge in their U.S.-Chinese operations.
Attorneys in our offices practice across a variety of service areas, including corporate, employment, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, securities, immigration, and tax, across a broad industry spectrum, including automotive, agriculture, general manufacturing, energy, health care and insurance. We serve a broad range of clients, including multinational corporations, public companies, privately held businesses, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and family businesses. We serve clients doing business throughout the United States and internationally through our offices in China, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, and Mexico and provide valuable counsel and advice to our clients through our well-established worldwide network.
Experience
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Represented U.S. manufacturer of animal feed additives in establishment of Chinese and offshore entities.
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Assisted automotive manufacturer in setup of new entity with Greenfield manufacturing facility and negotiated construction, project management and design agreements relating to construction of facilities.
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Advised a multinational Fortune 500 company about its strategy to expand in China and other parts of Asia as part of a year-long strategic overhaul and review of its Asia strategy, including advice on existing manufacturing operations, potential mergers and acquisitions, industry competition, customer concerns and branding.
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Advised a large manufacturer of agricultural products relative to importation and labeling of genetically modified organism (GMO) and non-GMO products into China and reversing a Shanghai Customs determination that the client’s products all required obligatory GMO labeling.
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Provided multinational agribusiness company and related entities, with a comprehensive introduction and strategic program relating to all aspects of agribusiness in China. Provided and arranged tours and research concerning the industry and organized meetings and briefings with U.S. and Chinese government officials, American-owned Chinese subsidiaries, Chinese government-owned and privately owned enterprises, and U.S.- and Chinese-based industry specialists.
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Conducted an investigation into kickbacks, trade secrets and non-competition for a U.S. company culminating in the termination of numerous employees, 2012.
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Conducted full investigation of FCPA and compliance issues for a U.S. company in the health-care industry, 2011-2012.
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Conducted full investigation of FCPA and compliance issues for U.S.-based Fortune 100 corporation in China, 2011.
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Conducted antitrust compliance training for a Fortune 500 corporation’s operating facilities in Changzhou, China, “Know Your Antitrust – Compliance with the Antitrust Law of the US, China, Europe, Japan and Korea,” Changzhou, China, May 2010.
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Conducted FCPA due diligence in China, Vietnam and India as well as transactions in the Middle East and Europe. The due diligence focuses on conduct, including gifts or bribes to public officials and the books and records side of the FCPA, which addresses how companies must maintain its accounting records.
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Represented a leading U.S. company in gas industry in its acquisition of 80 percent equity interest of a Chinese state-owned company, structuring the acquisitions, performing due diligence, drafting and negotiating documentation, processing government filings and communicating with government agencies concerned.
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Represent an international auto parts company on general corporate transactions and various legal issues for its subsidiaries in China, and acted as the corporate secretary and secretary of the board of the company’s subsidiaries in China.
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Advised on the process and requirements in a U.S. company’s sales of its shares in two Hong Kong companies.
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Assisted a U.S. client in its acquisition of a majority interest of a Taiwanese-owned Chinese manufacturing company with related assets/ownership in Mauritius, Samoa and the British Virgin Islands, which ultimately resulted in establishment of manufacturing facilities in Vietnam.
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Coordinated the restructure in Asia of a leading U.S. paper and packaging company, involving the establishment of a holding company in Singapore and acquisition of targeted companies in Thailand and Malaysia.
News & Articles
U.S. Begins Collecting Section 301 Duties on Products of China Origin
July 6, 2018
By Robert M. Oberlies & Jessie Lu
The U.S. government’s first tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports come into effect on July 6, 2018.
Read MoreChina Tariffs: Is a Trade War Imminent?
June 6, 2018
By J. Marc Ward
Throughout the past several months, concerns about a U.S. trade war with China have been escalating, fueled by a back-and-forth exchange of tariff threats by the Trump administration and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Read MoreImpact of New Cybersecurity Law on Foreign Companies in China
December 5, 2016
By Robert M. Oberlies & Jessie Lu
On November 7, 2016, China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China (Cybersecurity Law). The Cybersecurity Law will take effect on June 1, 2017.
Read MoreNew Regime for China Foreign Direct Investment
October 13, 2016
By Robert M. Oberlies & Jessie Lu
On October 8, 2016, China's Ministry of Commerce issued interim measures further stream-lining the process for establishing companies in China and related corporate changes. Find out how this will impact companies doing business in China and future investment.
Read MoreAttorney Robert Oberlies Named Co-Chair of Fredrikson & Byron’s China Practice Group
March 24, 2015
Fredrikson & Byron announced that Robert M. Oberlies has been named co-chair of the firm’s China Practice.
Read MoreHandling Procedures Related to Entry of Foreigners for Short-term Work Tasks in China
February 27, 2015
On January 1, 2015, Handling Procedures Related to Entry of Foreigners for Short-term Work Tasks (for Trial Implementation) (the “Procedures”) took effect. The Procedures provide guidelines for implementing the 90-day work permit rule under China’s new exit-entry law and regulations. The Procedures define “short-term work” and clarify the visa, work permit and residence permit application requirements and procedures for foreign nationals entering China for short-term employment purposes.
Read MoreThe United States and China Reach Agreement to Extend Visas for Short-Term Business Travelers, Tourists, Students, and Exchange Visitors
February 27, 2015
During his visit on November 8-10, 2014, to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing, U.S. President Obama announced that the U.S. and China have reached an agreement to extend the visa validity of short-term business, tourist, student and exchange visitor visas.
Read MoreChina (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (II): New Developments
January 7, 2014
It has been just over three months since the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the Shanghai FTZ) was officially opened on September 29, 2013. In that time, new rules have been released and more than a thousand new enterprises have been established. This article aims to provide an update on the most important developments in the Shanghai FTZ.
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