In August 2026 the General Administration of Customs ran policy Q&A sessions on preferential origin rules, clarifying the micro-content (de minimis) rule, accumulation, direct transport and certificate validity under GACC Announcement No. 54 of 2026 and related measures. 2026 年 8 月，海关总署就优惠原产地规则开展政策问答，结合海关总署 2026 年第 54 号公告等文件明确微小含量规则、累积规则、直接运输与证书有效期等要点。 Repackaging, splitting or re-labelling goods in a third country is only minor processing and does not confer originating status, so goods thus handled cannot enjoy preferential tariff treatment. 货物在第三方国家更换包装、分拆后贴上新标签仅属微小加工或处理，不能赋予原产资格，不能享受优惠关税。 Self-printed origin certificates obtained via … RCEP Origin Benefits in Practice: 2026 Clarifications from China CustomsRead more
Education Opening in China: Foreign Institutions, Hainan Pilots and the 2026 Expansion Wave
China’s education opening is scaling up fast: in May 2026 the Ministry of Education approved 219 new Sino-foreign cooperative education units (86 new institutions and 133 new programmes), the largest single-batch expansion in two decades. 中国教育开放加速扩容：2026 年 5 月教育部一次性批复 219 个中外合作办学单元——86 家新机构、133 个新项目，为近二十年来单次最大扩容。 The Education Development 15th Five-Year Plan, issued by the State Council in June 2026, calls for expanding high-level education opening, encouraging foreign high-level science and engineering universities to run programmes in China, and building international education cooperation … Education Opening in China: Foreign Institutions, Hainan Pilots and the 2026 Expansion WaveRead more
Copyright Civil Litigation in China: Key Rule Changes Under the 2026 SPC Interpretation
On 20 August 2026 the Supreme People’s Court issued the Decision Amending the Judicial Interpretation on Copyright Civil Disputes (Fa Shi [2026] No. 18), effective 1 September 2026. 2026 年 8 月 20 日，最高人民法院发布《关于修改〈最高人民法院关于审理著作权民事纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释〉的决定》（法释〔2026〕18 号），自 2026 年 9 月 1 日起施行。 “Made public” is now defined by objective disclosure to an indefinite public, removing the requirement that disclosure be made by or with the author’s permission; even infringing disclosure can trigger the standard. “公之于众”的认定改为客观标准：只要将作品向不特定人公开即构成，删去了”著作权人自行或者经著作权人许可”的限定；因侵权行为而公开也属于公之于众。 Fair use of artworks in public … Copyright Civil Litigation in China: Key Rule Changes Under the 2026 SPC InterpretationRead more
Investment and Data Security Review in China: The 2026 Compliance Matrix
The CAC’s Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Internet Enterprises (2026-2030), issued on 21 August 2026, commits to efficient implementation of data-export security assessments, standard contracts and certification, and to FTZ data-export negative lists and cross-border data service centres. 中央网信办 2026 年 8 月 21 日印发《促进网信企业高质量发展行动计划（2026-2030 年）》，承诺高效实施数据出境安全评估、个人信息出境标准合同、个人信息出境认证等制度，支持自贸区发布数据出境负面清单、设立数据跨境服务中心。 The first batch of data-export security assessment results, mostly issued in 2023, are expiring in 2026: extensions must be requested within 60 working days before expiry, meeting six conditions including a cap … Investment and Data Security Review in China: The 2026 Compliance MatrixRead more
Sector-by-Sector Opening in 2026: Hospitals, Telecoms and Services Pilots
The State Council’s National Health 15th Five-Year Plan (Guo Fa [2026] No. 23) explicitly calls for expanding the wholly foreign-owned hospital pilot and steadily advancing international medical services pilots. 国务院《国民健康”十五五”规划》（国发〔2026〕23 号）明确提出”推动医疗领域有序扩大开放，进一步扩大外商独资医院开放试点，稳妥推进国际医疗服务试点”。 Wholly foreign-owned hospital pilots now cover nine locations — Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangdong, Shenzhen and all of Hainan — with foreign hospitals landing in 2026 (e.g. Pengruili International Hospital, Fuzhou Xingyao Eye Hospital). 外商独资医院试点已覆盖北京、上海、天津、南京、苏州、福州、广东、深圳及海南全岛 9 个地方，2026 年外资医院加速落地（如鹏瑞利国际医院、福州星耀眼科医院）。 Value-added telecoms opening continues at scale: 166 foreign enterprises … Sector-by-Sector Opening in 2026: Hospitals, Telecoms and Services PilotsRead more
Foreign Investment Admission and Approval in China: Post-Entry Reform Under the 2026 Action Plan
The Action Plan for Stabilising and Optimising Foreign Investment Utilisation (Shang Zi Fa [2026] No. 97), approved by the State Council and released in June 2026, shifts foreign investment management from “market access” to “post-entry operation” (zhun ru to zhun ying). 经国务院同意、2026 年 6 月印发的《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（商资发〔2026〕97 号），把外资管理重心从”准入”转向”准营”。 The national negative list has been cut to 29 items and manufacturing entry restrictions fully cleared; the focus now is removing hidden barriers so licensed foreign firms can actually operate. 全国版外资准入负面清单已压减至 29 条、制造业准入限制全部清零；下一步重点在于打通”大门开、小门不开”的隐性壁垒，保障外资企业顺畅经营。 Services … Foreign Investment Admission and Approval in China: Post-Entry Reform Under the 2026 Action PlanRead more
VIE Structures and Offshore Listing in 2026: Filing Practice, Controller-Piercing and Data Gates
The CSRC continues to issue offshore listing filing notices in 2026 — for example, the 4 August 2026 filing notice for Ligent Technologies via its domestic operating entity — confirming that VIE/red-chip offshore listings remain practicable under the filing system. 证监会 2026 年持续核发境外发行上市备案通知书——如 2026 年 8 月 4 日通过境内运营实体提交备案的纳真科技——确认 VIE/红筹境外上市在备案制下仍可行。 Filing under the Trial Measures on the Filing of Overseas Securities Issuance and Listing by Domestic Enterprises applies to both direct and indirect (VIE/red-chip) issuers; VIEs must fully disclose the … VIE Structures and Offshore Listing in 2026: Filing Practice, Controller-Piercing and Data GatesRead more
Exiting China: Deregistration Reform Under the Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision)
The Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision), jointly issued by SAMR and five other departments, is being implemented across localities in 2026 through simplified procedures, agency (“da wei”) deregistration and integrated “one-stop” services. 市场监管总局等六部门发布的《企业注销指引（2025 年修订）》2026 年在各地落地执行，配套简易注销、代为注销与”一件事”集成办理。 Under the 2025 Revision, directors — not shareholders — are the primary liquidation obligors for companies; a director who fails to organise liquidation may bear compensatory liability. 依 2025 年修订版，公司清算义务人调整为董事（原为股东）；董事怠于组织清算造成企业、债权人损失的，须承担赔偿责任。 Agency deregistration solves the “impossible exit” deadlock: where a shareholder has died, been deregistered or … Exiting China: Deregistration Reform Under the Enterprise Deregistration Guide (2025 Revision)Read more
Structuring Foreign Investment in Chinese Listed Companies: Strategic Investment, Cross-Border Swaps and the 2026 Channels
The revised Strategic Investment Measures, effective 2 December 2024, lower thresholds for foreign strategic investment in A-share listed companies across five dimensions: foreign natural persons, asset requirements, tender offers, cross-border share swaps and lock-up periods. 修订后的《外国投资者对上市公司战略投资管理办法》（2024 年 12 月 2 日施行）从五方面降低外资战略投资 A 股上市公司门槛：允许外国自然人、放宽资产要求、新增要约收购、允许跨境换股、降低持股与锁定期要求。 Strategic investment can now be implemented by targeted issuance, negotiated transfer or tender offer; the shareholding floor is lowered to 5% and the lock-up shortened from three years to twelve months. 战略投资现可通过定向发行、协议转让或要约收购实施；持股比例下限降至 5%，锁定期由不低于 3 年调整为不低于 12 个月。 … Structuring Foreign Investment in Chinese Listed Companies: Strategic Investment, Cross-Border Swaps and the 2026 ChannelsRead more
Labour Dispatch in China: The 2026 Signals and Foreign-Employer Compliance
In August 2026 the Supreme People’s Court and five central departments issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Management of Employed Court Clerks, which require courts to sign labour contracts directly with clerks and “gradually eliminate labour dispatch” — a significant signal in the broader shift from dispatched to direct employment. 2026 年 8 月，最高人民法院会同中央组织部、中央政法委、中央编办、财政部、人力资源社会保障部印发《关于进一步加强人民法院聘用制书记员管理工作的意见》，要求法院直接与聘用制书记员签订劳动合同、”逐步取消劳务派遣用工方式”——在从派遣到直接用工的整体转向中释放重要信号。 Under the Labour Contract Law, labour dispatch is limited to temporary, auxiliary or substitute positions, and dispatched workers may not exceed 10% of total headcount; violations … Labour Dispatch in China: The 2026 Signals and Foreign-Employer ComplianceRead more