A dealmaking slowdown is making it harder for international firms to justify their presence in a once vital market.
For foreign law firms in China, 2023 was supposed to be a comeback year, with the post-Covid reopening generating a rebound in deal making — and a resurgence in fee income.
Things could hardly have turned out more differently. Lawyers say that China’s economic slowdown and chilly political winds have helped make the Chinese market a performance laggard for international law firms’ capital markets practices this year.
Even if China’s economy rebounds soon, some practitioners b
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Chinese companies have decided that the best place to make money right now is outside of China. The phenomenon known as chu hai (出海), which translates to “go global,” has taken hold, marking a kind of second 'go out' initiative. This time, however, Chinese companies are being met with scrutiny and suspicion.
The former Commerce Secretary and ambassador to China talks about how his background shaped his approach to dealing with Beijing, the pivot to Asia and negotiating Chen Guangcheng's release.
A podcast about how the two nations, once friends, are now foes.
Hear why things are so complicated now. Host Jane Perlez, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, talks with diplomats, spies, cultural superstars like Yo Yo Ma, and more to understand why the dangers are so high, and why relations went awry.