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CRC Welcomes A New Advisory Board Member
He serves as the Honorary Consul for the country of India in the United States. Mr. Cutshaw served the Administrations of President Ronald Reagan and President George H. W. Bush at the U.S. Commerce Department in various positions involving export/import regulatory programs including serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement. Other career positions were Senior Counsel for The 1982 World's Fair, Senior Attorney for the Tennessee Legislature, Manager of a U.S. Senate Campaign, assistant in a Tennessee District Attorney General office and owner of several family businesses and investments. He has been involved with several successful restaurant operations. He serves with many nonprofit Boards of Directors and civic enterprises including Council on Foreign Relations; World Trade Center Atlanta; Atlanta International Museum; U.S. North African Business Council; Brazil Chamber of Commerce; China Research Center; American Council of Young Political Leaders; Hudson Institute; Atlanta Boy Scouts; Atlanta Roundtable; Awakening, Inc.; Bretton Woods Committee; Atlanta Chambers; Sigma Chi; Atlanta Woodruff Arts Council; University of Tennessee and American University and other organizations. He is a member of the International Bar, American Bar, Federal Bar, District of Columbia Bar, Georgia Bar, Tennessee Bar, Customs Bar, Atlanta Bar and the Inter-Pacific Bar. Mr. Cutshaw has also been politically active in several Republican organizations. He serves on the Board of Advisors for several legal publications and has published three books: Doing Business in China (1995), and Doing Business in Russia (2000), Doing Business in India (2001). He received a Master of Law from American University in 1987, a J.D. in 1978 and a B.A. in 1975 from The University of Tennessee. Mr. Cutshaw is married to Diane Dracos Cutshaw, Vice-President of Credit Suisse First Boston. He has three children, resides in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a native of Tennessee. Mr. Cutshaw is an avid outdoorsman participating in high-adventure sports, including mountaineering excursions on six continents, flying, skiing and golf. He is active in Scouting with his son. He is a world traveler and enjoys cultural events. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Conference on China Business A Success
by Dr. Penelope B. Prime
China Research Center’s conference on doing business in China was held on February 7th at the Student Auditorium at Georgia State University. Approximately 150 people attended the day-long event. Center Associates gave eight panel presentations throughout the day. Mr. Lu Jianguang from the Chinese Consulate in Houston spoke about opportunities for U.S. companies and ways that the Consulate could assist. A wide range of expertise was shared on the dynamic political and economic changes occurring in China at its present stage of development. Two companies—Automated Logic and World Travel BTI—also shared their experiences with the China and Asian markets. Workshop on Sino-US Relations held at GeorgiaTech
by Dr. John Garver
At the request of the
Chinese side discussion began with the problem of Korea and continued for two hours ___________________________________________________________________________________ China Elected New Leaders by Dr. Baogang Guo
Foreign Companies Allowed To Purchase State Assets by Reiko Feaver *
Permissible Investments The Restructuring Regulations identify the permissible means by
which “a foreign company, enterprise or other economic organization or
individual" (a “Foreign Investor”) may acquire equity or assets held by
state-owned enterprises or unlisted companies with state shareholdings
(collectively, “SOEs”). Specifically,
a Foreign Investor may:
· acquire the property rights of an SOE · acquire the existing equity held by an SOE · inject capital into an SOE in return for newly issued equity · acquire all or substantially all of the assets of an SOE ·
assume debt of the SOE from domestic creditors The Restructuring Regulations do not themselves restrict a Foreign Investor from investing in particular industries; however, any such prohibitions contained within the Industry Catalogue Guiding Foreign Investment will continue to apply, as will existing rules mandating Chinese control of certain enterprises. Criteria for Investors China’s first phase of economic liberalization focused on using
foreign investment to increase exports out of Restructuring
Plan The creation of a “restructuring plan” is the first step in
pursuing an investment under the Restructuring Regulations.
The restructuring plan is essentially a business plan for the
entity into which an investment will be made, addressing internal
corporate governance, product development, enhancements of technical
expertise and capital investment.
The SOE submits the final restructuring plan as part of its
application package to the relevant governmental authority for approval. Valuation Under the Restructuring Regulations, the applicable SOE must
perform a valuation of all assets and equity to be acquired by a Foreign
Investor. This valuation,
which must be conducted in accordance with the Administration of State
Asset Valuation Procedures and Provisions of Certain Issues on the
Administration of State Assets Valuation, serves as the basis for
determining the acquisition price. Approval A proposed investment must satisfy multiple requirements in order
to obtain governmental approval.
Additionally, depending on the type of transaction, certain parties
must consent to or have an opportunity to give an opinion on the proposed investment. For
instance, if the investment would result in the transfer to a
Foreign Investor of the controlling interest in an enterprise or of all of
the main assets of an enterprise, an “appropriate plan to settle the
staff and workers” is required and such plan is subject to approval by
the effected employees and the worker congress. This last requirement serves
as a reminder not only that the approval of investments in SOEs may be
influenced by social as well as economic factors, but also that any
investment may entail labor issues to which a Foreign Investor may not be
accustomed. Summation As is common with Chinese laws, the Restructuring Regulations contain room for uncertainty and capriciousness in their application. One important example is the failure of the Restructuring Regulations to clearly identify which governmental agency holds ultimate authority to approve an investment. An additional unknown is the impact that China’s social stability concerns will have on the approval and requirements of foreign investments. If past history is a guide, these concerns will not deter foreign investors from seeking to participate in the potentially rewarding opportunity to participate in the disposition of state-owned assets in China. * Reiko Feaver is an attorney with Troutman Sanders LLP in the Project Development and Finance and International practice groups. She would like to thank Bing Wang, an attorney in the Hong Kong office of Troutman Sanders, for his assistance with this article. With an office in Hong Kong, Troutman Sanders is well positioned to, and regularly does, advise corporate clients in connection with business initiatives in China, including matters related to joint ventures, asset and stock acquisitions, export-import, finance and infrastructure development. If you are interested in learning more about Troutman Sanders' International Practice Group in China please contact Reiko Feaver at 404-885-3243 or Chip Thompson at 404-885-3634. General information on Troutman Sanders can be found at wwww.troutmansanders.com. A Yellow Jacket in Beijing: Environmentalist C. S. Kiang Named Dean at Peking University * by Neil B. McGahee
Kiang
is no stranger to China — he was born in Shanghai in 1939 but grew
up in Taiwan. He speaks four Chinese dialects fluently. "In 1964, I learned I and another Chinese student had tuberculosis," Kiang said. "I lived and he died." Kiang said he was saved by the actions of Vernon Crawford, then the associate director of the School of Physics. Crawford, who later became chancellor of the Georgia Board of Regents, drove Kiang to Rome, Ga., and admitted him to a state hospital that specialized in the treatment of TB. "After that I stayed with him and his wife, Helen, at their home for a year," Kiang said. "They took care of me. They even paid my medical and school bills and never asked for anything back. Later he said that he was adopting me as his 'Number One son' since he had two daughters." After earning his doctorate in 1970, Kiang worked at the National Center of Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., until 1978, when Crawford asked him to return to Atlanta to develop and direct Tech's Atmospheric Sciences program. "I was very happy in Boulder," he said. "But when Dr. Crawford called, I came back. Up until his death, he always said, 'Please, don't leave.' That's a significant reason why I stayed at Tech for the rest of my career." Kiang was the first director of the Office of Environmental Science, Technology and Policy, and was a founding director of the Southern Oxidant Study, an alliance of government agencies, national laboratories, academic institutes and private industries studying air quality in the southern United States. China's environment has suffered in the past 20 years from rapid development. Its cities are some of the most polluted in the world, which could present a major threat to continued economic growth. Kiang hopes his ideas will promote solutions to those environmental problems. "This is a chance to do something with global impact," he said. "I think my theme over there will be 'what China can do for the world.' I want to emphasize that if China's environmental resources can be sustainable, then China can help the world. The college at Peking University will not just be concerned with ecological issues. We will also offer urban and regional planning, environmental geoscience resources and environmental design. We may be the first college in the world to look at the environment holistically." Kiang said China's environmental situation is much more immediate than the United States. "Take, for example, Atlanta's water resources," he said. "We still have enough, but 30 years from now, our supply will be met with demand. China has to deal with those situations now — they don't have 30 years. Smart growth in China is a necessity and if they can do that, then they can offer help to other developing countries in South America, southeast Asia or Africa." State economic leaders consider Kiang a critical link between China and Georgia. He has served as an adviser to U.S. companies entering China since that country established its open door policy in the 1970s and was one of the founders of China/Tech, a joint high-technology information exchange program. Kiang is confident China can handle environmental growth as well as it has handled economic growth. "Americans think China is very slow to change, but that's not a valid assumption," Kiang said. "For the past 20 years, China's economic growth has been historical. They developed economically in 20 years what took the West 200 years to do." *
The article originally appeared on Tech Topics, __________________________________________________________________________________
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Kenneth
A. Cutshaw is the Director of the Georgia State University Center for
Global Business Leadership. He is an Adjunct Professor at GSU teaching
an MBA course on international business law. He is a Partner with
Holland & Knight, LLP, one of the largest and most respected law
firms in the world with over 1300 lawyers practicing from 35 offices
around the world. Mr. Cutshaw's practice is concentrated on commercial
and international business, public law, and specialties in technology,
regulatory, trade law, entertainment and general business.
On the afternoon of January 30,
Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs hosted a 4 hour workshop on Sino-U.S.relations in cooperation with the Shanghai Institute of International
Studies (SIIS). Four senior analysts from SIIS visited Atlanta for three days: Professor Yu Xintian, President of SIIS, Professor Xia
Liping, Director of the Center for International Strategic Studies at SIIS, Dr. Ren Xiao, Director of the Department of American Studies at
SIIS, and Mr. Zhao Nianyu, Director of the Office of Research
Management and International Exchanges at SIIS. Participating Atlanta-area academics were from Kennesaw State University,
Oglethorpe University, Georgia Southern University, Dalton State College, the University of Georgia, North Georgia University,
Emory University, and Georgia State University, as well as from Georgia Tech. Representatives of the Atlanta Journal Constitution
and several Atlanta-area businessmen also participated. The format was based on open discussion and dialogue.
on that topic. Taiwan and Iraq occupied the final two
hours of the workshop. The atmosphere was cordial and frank. The
objective of greater mutual understanding was achieved. The central thrust of the Chinese side regarding Korea
was that there should be bilateral talks between North Korea and the United States, and that threats, pressure, and sanctions against North Korea would be counter-productive. China's interests and its
policy required a stable and non-nuclear Korea, and China hoped to work with the United States to achieve those objectives. China has
no interest in destabilizing north Korea, an event which could destabilize China's Jilin province. In private comments, several of
the Chinese scholars expressed concern with possible Japanese nuclearization. On Taiwan, discussion was remarkably calm. Both
sides stated their familiar positions, and showed no interest in trying to rebut
the other. Over all, the Shanghai guests were optimistic about prospects for Sino-American cooperation.
The
First Session of the 10th Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) was
held in Beijing between March 5 to March 18, 2003. This meeting marked
the completion of the largest power transfer in a decade in China. With
little surprise, all candidates nominated by the Chinese Communist Party
in last year's Party Congress got elected. Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang Zemin
to become China's new Presdient, Wu Bangguo succeeded Li Peng to become
the new Chairman of the National People's Congress, and Wen Jiabao
succeeded Zhu Rongji as the new Premier. Compared to their predecessors,
this new group of leaders is much younger, better educated, and have
worked their way up from grassroot level. Of the 28 ministers, 15 are new, with the
rest coming from the previous cabinet. Seventy percent of the newly
elected members of Standing Committee of the NPC are new. The
only surprise is the reelection of Jiang Zeming as the Chairman of the
Central Military Commission. Apparently, Jiang has decided last year to
follow Deng Xiaoping's footsteps, and hold on to this power for a few years
before going into full retirement. 
The
government has pledged to continue the work on reforms and development
began two decades ago. Hu pledged to the delegates that he would
"faithfully perform
the powers and functions endowed by the Constitution, scrupulously
discharge his duties, work hard and industriously and serve the country
and the people with utmost sincerity." Wen Jiabao in a press
conference held after the conclusion of the meeting laid out the main objectives of the new government,
namely to "achieve one goal", "implement two key
policies", "solve three major economic problems" and
"promote reforms in four major aspects". One goal refers to
continued maintenance of a sustainable and comparatively rapid development of
the national economy and improvement of people's living standards.
Two key policies include the strategic economic restructuring and
opening up to the outside world. The three problems that need to be
resolved include unemployment and the social security system, increasing
fiscal revenue and cuting public spending, and correcting and standardizing the
economic order. The four reforms include the reform of
the rural economy, the reform of state-owned enterprises, the reform of
financial system and the reform of governmental agencies. It
appears that the issues of equality and social justice have been given
highest priorities by the new administration. The new leaders promised
to provide eight million new jobs this year alone to combat the mounting
unemployment crisis in China. New Taxes will be leveled on people
with higher incomes. Rural reform will also be crucial to China's drive to
achieve a more affluent society that benefit all people. 
Political
reform was not a priority at the meeting. Instead, more institutional
reforms are endorsed. Compared with previous institutional reforms, this
time the emphasis will be on the changing roles and functions of the government. Under the government restructuring plan, the State Council
will form a new commission for the management of state property, to be
responsible for the reform and reorganization of state-owned enterprises,
and a new commission to regulate the banking industry. A new Food
and Drug Administration on the basis of the State Drug Administration will
be established to
reinforce supervision over the safety of food, health products and
cosmetics. A new Ministry of Commence will be created to replace the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the State Economic
and Trade Commission.
One of the great challenges facing China in its drive for sustained
economic growth is the question of how to integrate the assets and
employees of state-owned enterprises into a liberalizing economy.
China.
Less
than a month after retiring, former Georgia Tech environmental
scientist C.S. Kiang was named dean of the newly established College
of Environmental Sciences at Peking University, one of China's most
prestigious schools. He is the first foreign dean. Kiang
said his wife, Marilyn, owner of Kiang Art Gallery, and their two
daughters will remain in Atlanta while Kiang "commutes" to
work in Beijing, coming back home every six weeks or so.