Profile
Relevant Laws and Regulations
- The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2017) (Amended in 2017) (“Criminal Law”): China criminalizes giving and receiving bribes under Section VIII of The Criminal Law (Articles 382 - 396). (The government has not published a consolidated version that reflects includes the ten amendments made between 1997 and 2017.)
- Law of the People's Republic of China Against Unfair Competition (“Anti-Unfair Competition Law”) (Amended in 2019): China imposes civil and potentially criminal liability on commercial bribery and presumes vicarious liability for employers in connection with illegal action by employees.
- The Supervision Law (2018): China launched a new government agency targeted at anti-corruption enforcements, the National Supervision Commission (NSC), tasked with combatting public-sector corruption. The NSC monitors China’s 90 million Communist Party members as well as state-owned enterprises, hospitals, educational and cultural institutions, sports organizations and provincial and local government organs.1
- The Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2018): Trials in absentia are available for certain criminal cases including bribery and corruption (Article 291).
- The International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law of the People's Republic of China (2018): The ICJAL blocks disclosure of evidence obtained in China to criminal enforcement authorities outside of China in connection with a criminal matter, absent approval from a competent Chinese authority (e.g., the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the People's Procuratorate and the Ministries of National and Public Security).
- The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq.) (the “FCPA”) (Chinese version)
- Provisions on the List of Unreliable Entities by The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (2020)
Enforcement Authorities
- People’s Procuratorate
- National Supervision Commission/Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
- State Administration for Market Regulation and Market Supervision Bureaus at local and municipality levels
Publicly-Available Resources
- China Judgements Online (“Wenshu Website”): Government database where court decisions are published
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (“Corporate Registry System”): Government database where company registy records and basic credit information can be searched:
- Transparency International informational page
1 Under Section 22 of the Supervision Law, the NSC also has jurisdiction to “detain”(留置) individuals who allegedly aided and abetted corruption of public personnel. The NSC does not need court orders to exercise such power. We have observed that the NSC detained Chinese employees of MNCs who were neither state employees nor party members, by invoking this provision.
Thought Leadership
- Bipartisan Legislative Proposal Would Expand CFIUS’s Jurisdiction
- Biden Administration Refines Chinese Military Companies Sanctions
- Chinese Government Introduces Rules Restricting Application of Foreign Laws
- Podcast: Communist Chinese Military Companies Executive Order: Implications and Key Questions
- The Anti-Corruption Report Article: FCPA Resource Guide Second Edition in Practice
- U.S.-China Tensions Continue to Escalate: New Executive Order Bans Investment in 31 Chinese Companies
- Herbalife Agrees to Pay $123 Million to Settle Charges Related to 10-Year Bribery Scheme in China
- Focus on China: New and Evolving International Risks
- Four Years and Almost $4 Billion: Airbus Corruption Investigations End with Sky-High Fine
- OFAC Raises the Compliance Bar: Takeaways from the Stanley Black & Decker Settlement
- Catnip for Whistleblowers: The Status of SOX Whistleblower Protections in FCPA Cases
- New International Pharmaceutical Practice Code Tightens Restrictions on Gifts
- China Enacted “Blocking Statute” for International Criminal Judicial Assistance
- Former Hong Kong Government Official Convicted of FCPA and International Money Laundering Crimes in Connection with African Bribery Schemes
- COVID-19: Global Health Care Compliance: Managing Compliance Issues and Process Changes Related to the Pandemic
- Podcast: CFIUS: Recent Regulatory Developments
- A Midyear Look At Key US Sanctions Developments - Law360