China currently faces a myriad of challenges, such as the COVID-19 outbreak and aftermath, the trade war with the world, geopolitical disputes with its neighbors and numerous domestic issues. Nevertheless, the Chinese market remains one of the most attractive for foreign companies in the world. There is simply no other market that can offer the size and attractiveness China has in terms of population, growing middle class, consumption and overall industrial capacity.

To discuss the opportunities and risks of investing in and selling to the Chinese market, Swisscham has invited UBS to give us their view by addressing the following topics:

• China’s equity market has quickly recovered from the COVID-19 outbreak, thanks to effective virus containment and substantial monetary and fiscal easing. But are there any key risks investors might overlook?

• The relationship between China and the US is causing changes to global supply chains. Will China lose its core position as the global manufacturing base?

• China is the leader of 5G network development. How will 5G benefit different industries? Will the US’s tech export controls impact China’s 5G development plans?

• China has shifted its focus from traditional to intelligent infrastructure, as highlighted at the recent National People’s Congress meeting. What are the investment opportunities in this shift to investing in and building new infrastructure?

A recently published statement of European insolvency experts declared the emergency measures in the non-EU country Switzerland as a role model for European insolvency legislators. In order to prevent unnecessary bankruptcies, the report calls upon EU and European national legislators to take immediate action to adapt insolvency laws. This article sheds some light on the emergency measures recently enacted by the Swiss Federal Government as well as on the further reforms which are currently being contemplated and are intended to be introduced soon after the Easter break.

Among all the possible events a company operating in China may encounter during its life cycle, parting with its staff is always one of the most challenging ones given that Chinese labour law heavily protects employees. Be it for economic, personal or other reasons, the early termination of a labor contract presents multiple legal and practical issues that need to be taken into account. This seminar organized by SwissCham China provided participants with a valuable tool kit for different termination scenarios (including restructurings and liquidations), specifically focusing on the termination of employment relationships with managerial personnel. Many thanks to Tian Xu and Felix Engelhardt from Eiger for sharing their first-hand experience from numerous cases in this field.