Jiangsu Changzhou Allows Foreign Businesses to Enjoy More Dividends of Rule of Law

According to CRI Online Jiangsu, "FIEs are not allowed to copy their foreign parent company's contract template when concluding employment contracts with employees.", "Only arbitration awards are binding and enforceable to the parties." Compared with litigation, it has the characteristics of party autonomy, flexibility and convenience, and final awards."… On October 12, professionals of legal service industry in Changzhou delivered English keynote speeches and interacted with guests at the Third Session of Changzhou Legal Environment Briefing.

Sheng Jianliang, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Changzhou Municipal People's Congress, delivers a speech at the Third Session of Changzhou Legal Environment Briefing. [Photo provided by Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice]

With the theme of "Strengthening the Rule of Law and Optimizing the Business Environment", this legal environment briefing is one of the series of activities of the 2021 China Changzhou Science and Technology Economic and Trade Fair. Sponsored by the Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice, the Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the Municipal Lawyers Association, and the Municipal Association of Foreign Enterprises, it attracted the participation of nearly 100 senior executives and legal personnel of foreign-related enterprises in the city. It is reported that this is the third consecutive year that Changzhou has held a briefing on the legal environment. The relevant municipal law departments introduced and served foreign-related enterprise development policies and measures, especially the rule of law safeguard measures, showing that the city's legal community is striving to create a legalized, international, and standardized business environment.

"We strive to build a city with the fewest approvals, the highest efficiency, the best investment environment, and the strongest sense of corporate gain" Sheng Jianliang, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Changzhou Municipal People's Congress, said in his speech, for Changzhou to make the leap from a "famous manufacturing city" to an internationalized "smart city", the rule of law must be at the forefront, with a first-class business environment under the rule of law, focusing on building an "international smart city, the central axis of the Yangtze River Delta".

Sebastien Baran, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steering Systems (Changzhou) Co., Ltd., introduces the reasons, experience and feelings about investing in Changzhou. [Photo provided by Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice]

There are currently more than 3,000 foreign-invested companies in Changzhou, 68 of the world's top 500 companies have invested in 117 projects in Changzhou, more than 500 local companies have gone global, and "Made in Changzhou" has been exported to 220 countries and regions. In the process of "bringing in" foreign capital and escorting local companies to "go out", the role of the rule of law has become increasingly prominent.

"Changzhou has obvious advantages in transportation location, a complete range of industrial categories, perfect infrastructure and a very good business environment." Sebastien Baran, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steering Systems (Changzhou) Co., Ltd., said when talking about his experience and feelings about investing in Changzhou. This year, one of the world's top 500 companies, ThyssenKrupp Group of Germany, signed a contract with Changzhou to develop a new project, the high-end automotive shock absorber manufacturing project.

"Failure to handle in time may affect the business of the company." Changzhou Hualida Garment Group Co., Ltd. has a lot of overseas business, and the demand for notarization business is relatively large. Internet evidence preservation and notarization abroad must be done in a timely manner. According to the legal staff of the company, the Changzhou Notary Office has implemented the Saturday Duty System, the opening of the green channel for notarization and other measures, which has brought great convenience to enterprises.

"Compliance capability has become one of the core competitiveness of a company." Zhang Jiawei, a lawyer from Jiangsu Boaixing Law Firm, believes that companies should put compliance management in a more important position and do their best to regulate management and prevent and control risks. In order to help companies in risk control and protection in terms of compliance, she led the foreign-related team at the firm to strengthen the research on foreign laws and developed a series of compliance programs concerning cross-border data flow and export control.

Local legal authorities introduce the policies and measures for the development of foreign-invested enterprises and answer questions concerning investment regulations on the Spot. [Photo provided by Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice]

As one of the first groups of cities in the country under the rule of law, Changzhou's judicial administrative authorities have taken the initiative to exercise their functions in recent years and formulated and promulgated the Opinions on Exercising the Judicial Administrative Functions to Create the Optimal Legal Environment for Business and the list of key tasks to establish the country's first "Non-Public Economy Legal Escort Center" to provide companies with one-stop, precise and full-cycle legal services, continue to deepen the reform of government functions, polish up the "simplified procedures" brand, and continuously release the rule of law dividends.

"Constantly create a fair and transparent legal environment, innovate the supply of legal service products, deepen law enforcement and judicial protection, creating a more legalized business environment.", said Zhang Jialin, Deputy Director of the Office of Rule of Law of the Changzhou Municipal Party Committee and Director of the Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice.