Commercial Presence in China
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A foreign law firm may only establish a commercial presence in China in
the form of a representative office. Initially, firms are limited to one
representative office in China. By December 11, 2002, this restriction
will be lifted.
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Initially, the supply of foreign legal services is restricted to Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Haikou, Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo, Yantai,
Tianjin, Suzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Hanghou, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenyang,
and Kunming. All geographic restrictions will be eliminated by December
11, 2002.
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The chief representative of a foreign law firm must be a partner or equivalent
of a law firm of a WTO Member and have practiced law at least three years.
Other representatives must be practitioner lawyers who are members of the
bar or law society in a WTO Member and must have practiced for at least
two years outside of China. The chief representative and all other
representatives must also be resident in China for at least six months
each year.
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Representative offices may engage in for-profit activity.
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The commitments in China’s services schedule apply to the provision of
legal services other than Chinese law practice. With that qualification,
the scope of legal services for representative offices is as follows:
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A representative office may provide clients consultancy on legislation
of the country/region in which the lawyers of the firm are permitted to
engage in lawyers’ professional work and international conventions
and practices.
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A representative office may handle, when entrusted by clients or Chinese
law firms, legal affairs of the country/region where the law firm is allowed
to engage in professional work.
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A representative office may entrust, on behalf of foreign clients, Chinese
law firms to deal with Chinese legal affairs.
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A representative office may enter into contracts to maintain long-term
entrustment relations with Chinese law firms for legal affairs.
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A representative office may provide information on the impact of China’s
legal environment.
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A representative office may not employ Chinese national registered lawyers
outside of China.
Presence of Natural Persons
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As stated above, all representatives of a foreign law firm must be resident
in China at least six months each year.
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Managers, executives, and specialists of a representative office, branch,
or subsidiary in China, temporarily moving as intra-corporate transferees,
will be permitted an initial stay of three years.
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Managers, executives, and specialists of foreign-invested enterprises in
China will be granted a long-term stay permit as stipulated in the terms
of contracts concerned or an initial stay of three years, whichever is
shorter.
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Service salespersons who are not based in China, and who meet certain other
conditions set out in China’s services schedule, are limited to a 90-day
stay.
Cross-Border Supply of Services
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The cross-border supply of legal services is not subject to market access
restrictions and is accorded national treatment.
Consumption of Services Abroad
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The provision of legal services outside of China is not subject to market
access restrictions and is accorded national treatment.
Acquired Rights of Foreign Service Suppliers
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The conditions of ownership, operation, and scope of activities for an
existing foreign service supplier, as set out in the supplier’s contract
or shareholders’ agreement or in a license establishing or authorizing
the supplier’s operation or supply of services, will not be made more restrictive
than they were on December 11, 2001.
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