- CEO Talk: Matthias Schroeder on justice and data protection
- Algorithms more strictly regulated than in the EU
- Possible ban on US IPOs
- BioNTech approval deliberately delayed?
- EU working on regulations for procurement
- ARM develops own computer system
- Beijing dismisses US report on COVID-19
- Opinion: War between USA and China is avoidable
The relationship between the individual and the judicial system is an essential dimension in every society. Lawyer Matthias Schroeder provides inside knowledge on the situation in China. He was born in Beijing and this is where he practices law today. Schroeder sees a system that most Chinese citizens find perfectly adequate. While the law firm founder certainly recognizes the weaknesses of China’s current legal system, political influence on most disputes is minimal. The much-dreaded injustice is largely felt by those least involved in politics. In our CEO Talk, Schroeder describes why the majority of Chinese citizens, who have been socialized in China, are actually quite content with the legal system. After all, it is now already much more developed than it was during the previous generation.
But the constant development of laws also brings new challenges for the Communist Party. It changes thinking and raises the bar. One example is the new data protection law. It mandates in detail what China’s economy is allowed to do with customers’ data, or rather, what they are no longer allowed to do. However, it is only a small step from here to the question of what the state actually intends to do with citizens’ data. “The genie is out of the bottle,” says Schroeder.
Many experts agree that China’s data protection in the commercial area is now overtaking even that of the EU and US. The government just isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. In today’s analysis, we look at the ongoing regulation of algorithms. Chinese citizens will be able to access data points and assessments on their preferences stored by service providers. This is a right that many Germans would also like when it comes to their data stored by Google, Amazon and Facebook.
Have a pleasant week!
Finn Mayer-Kuckuk

CEO Talk
‘When it comes to data protection, the genie is out of the bottle’

Disclaimer. This interview excerpt was translated into English and is not considered an official translation by any party involved.
Matthias Schroeder is a triplet and yet quite unique: a German lawyer who was born in Beijing and grew up mostly there. The reason is simple. The parents of the 46-year-old were East German diplomats. They played tennis with George Bush and his wife Barbara in Beijing in the 1970s. After all, the former U.S. president was the unofficial U.S. ambassador to Beijing at the time. Schroeder lived here all his life – the only one of the three brothers.
The 1.97 meters tall, athletic lawyer studied law in Cape Town and Berlin and, after one or two stops in China, set up his own law company in Beijing: Ding Schroeder & Partner. He also operates the website Law-China.de. Outside his work, he is part of the board of the German Society for Speed Reading and is also a fitness trainer. Schroeder is also the only German lawyer in China who appears in court. In short: Schroeder knows how the law in China works.
- Chinese Communist Party
- Data protection
- Interview
- Society
Continue reading now
… and get free access to this Professional Briefing for a month.
Are you already a guest at the China.Table? Log in now