Dr Joseph Lee speaks at the 18th Tsinghua Commercial Law Symposium in Beijing, China. 

Dr Joseph Lee speaks at the 18th Tsinghua Commercial Law Symposium in Beijing, China

Dr Joseph Lee, Director of the Centre for Commercial and Corporate Law (CCCL), recently participated in the 18th Tsinghua Commercial Law Symposium in Beijing, China. Dr Lee's collaboration with Tsinghua University takes place under the Exeter-Tsinghua project led by Dr Lee to investigate corporate governance issues in the new era of global trade relations where the UK and China play a key role in shaping policies, norms and enforcement mechanisms.

This project has generated great interest from asset management firms and funds as well as securities exchanges looking into innovative, cross-border investment initiatives between post-Brexit EU and trade-war entangled China. The London-Shanghai stock connect as discussed in the UK-China 9th Economic and Financial Dialogue is a prime example to construct a framework for collaboration in China’s One Belt One Road project and in Britain’s new relations with the EU. One of the aims of the project is to define the parameters of competing policies and norms and to work out ways for regulatory realignment to provide legal certainty and mitigate risks for cross-border investment. This project is expected to produce a book in 2019/2020 looking into state interests, market players, and governance mechanisms in the takeover markets. It will provide important findings for academics, policymakers and industry.

Dr Matthew Cole from CCCL, Prof Chenying Zhang, Prof Xin Tang and Prof Ciyun Zhu from the Tsinghua Centre of Commercial Law, as well as other international academics from Germany and the Netherlands, are core members of this project. Clifford Chance, China Britain Business Council (CBBC), Guantao law firm, DeHeng Civil Code N.V., China Merger & Acquisition Association, and Farrer & Co LLP the are main industry contributors to this project.

Date: 12 November 2018