China

As one of the fastest growing markets in the world, China is critical to any successful international business strategy. Holland & Knight’s China Team has an established presence in China's capital, where local lawyers work closely with colleagues in our firm’s offices around the world to assist many multinational corporations, trade associations, private and institutional investors and private equity groups in managing risks, embracing opportunities and responding to crisis in this emerging market.

Our Services

Investment in China has become more promising than ever. Since the early 1980s, lawyers at Holland & Knight have advised our clients on a wide variety of transactional matters involving China. We have extensive experience counseling multinational corporations and financial institutions, private businesses and other clients with respect to their China activities. In addition to serving the legal needs of our clients desiring to do business in China, we also represent Chinese enterprises that seek to conduct activities or make investments in the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Legislative and Regulatory Matters

Doing business in China means navigating a maze of governmental approvals and compliance issues. A significant number of government organizations may be involved for any particular legal issue in China. Our China Team helps clients understand the complicated scheme of governmental approvals and transforming ambiguous or confusing Chinese regulatory requirements into practical compliance plans. Particular regulatory areas in which we regularly assist clients include:

• corporate certification and accreditation
• commercial contracts
• China environmental protection
• health, safety and product stewardship
• exporting
• finance
• importing
• intellectual property protection
• labor
• land use
• occupational health and occupational safety
• product and raw material registration and marking
• project approval
• tax
• telecommunication
• transport
• logistics
• ocean shipping

Read more about Holland & Knight's China and Greater Asian-Pacific Government Affairs and Regulatory Practice.

Commercial

Our China Team routinely handles clients' complex project approval processes, negotiations, advocacy programs, regulatory issues and international commercial transactions involving the Chinese government and other parties. Attorneys on our China Team are widely recognized in business circles for their work on behalf of industries in China and with the Chinese government.

We have advised clients on diverse matters in industries such as automotive, aviation, biotechnology, broadcasting, banking, capital investment, chemical, consumer product, coating, commercial and residential real estate development, cosmetic, electronic, coal, oil and gas, thermal and nuclear electricity, renewables, water and waste, road and rail transport, oceanic shipping, entertainment, food and beverage, heavy machinery, hospitality, infrastructure development, mining, pharmaceutical, retail, software, telecommunications, toy, logistics and transportation.

Typical projects may range from product registration and testing to developing plans to prevent illegal labor practices in supplier manufacturing facilities. With more than 15 years of experience representing multinational clients in matters involving regulation of products and operations in China, our team is well-known in both corporate and Chinese government circles for its leadership and advocacy in these areas.

We offer a range of services tailored to meet client needs, including:

• direct engagement of regulatory authorities and government affairs advocacy
• compliance counseling and issue management on an individual country and regional basis
• training and management of local counsel

Corporate, M&A and Joint Venture

Our China Team advises clients on all aspects of establishing, financing and operating a business in China. We represent not only multinational corporations and investors, but also Chinese domestic enterprises, private investors and private equity groups. Our services and experience include:

• corporate financing: advised foreign and domestic corporations in the establishment of domestic direct investment funds; assisted Chinese domestic and Hong Kong-based clients with conducting IPOs and other stock offerings in the U.S.; and advised multinational clients on global offerings of bonds and other financial instruments for their Chinese subsidiaries
• foreign direct investment: assisted multinational corporations with establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures with local investors
• mergers and acquisitions: advised our global and Chinese domestic clients on mergers and acquisitions involving large and small domestic companies
• private equity transactions: worked with both U.S. funds and Chinese domestic direct investment funds in connection with their investments in manufacturing enterprises in burgeoning areas such as Suzhou and Tianjin
• joint ventures: represented U.S. clients in establishing and administering joint ventures in manufacturing, transportation and many other industries

Financing and Infrastructure Development

Holland & Knight has deep experience among foreign firms in financing infrastructure projects in mainland China and Hong Kong. Our representative clients include some of the best known multinationals and domestic state-run corporations, including Electricite de France International, China National Offshore Oil Corp., Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China National Coal Development Corp. and China International Trust & Investment Corp.

We also have experience assisting clients with the disposition of non-performing loan portfolios and restructuring of troubled infrastructure projects.

As a result of our involvement with large-scale governmental projects such as Daya Bay Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant Project, Xuzhou Guangyin Airport and Expansion of the Waigaoqiao Power Plant, Holland & Knight attorneys have established a strong relationship with the central government of China.

Real Estate

Our Global Hospitality, Resort and Timeshare Group understands the complexity of developing and managing hotels, resorts and branded residential properties in China. We assist a variety of clients in structuring different types of resort and mixed-use projects with and without branded residential components in Asian countries. We draft and negotiate various agreements relating to management, licensing, technical services, purchase and sale, and construction in connection with the development, sales, marketing and management of branded residences and condominiums, whether stand-alone or in connection with hotel properties.

We understand and are sensitive to the difficulties and complexities of local laws and unique business practices in the rapidly changing environment of China. Our strength is to draw from our extensive international experiences while working closely with local counsel to find creative and practical deal structures and solutions to help our clients overcome the unique complexities and restrictions of the applicable local laws.

Our Reach

Many of our clients are represented in the China Roundtable, a corporate, member-driven industry association organized to share best practices; discuss and analyze China sustainability law, recent legal developments and advocacy opportunities; and leverage member resources to address compliance, social responsibility, occupational health and safety, environmental protection, supply-chain management and other issues affecting member operations and products in China.

Our China lawyers serve as counsel to the Roundtable, whose current members represent the following industry sectors: automotive, biotechnology, chemical, coating, consumer product, electronic/high-technology, food and beverage, heavy machinery, healthcare, pharmaceutical, security system, textile and toy industries.