The spectacular footage of the Ever Given accident in the Suez Canal is already one of the images of the year. Yet, according to the German economy, the Covid cases at Chinese ports have a much greater impact on global supply chains. Yesterday, another employee was hit. This time at China’s second-largest port, which immediately shut down operations as a result. Once again, delays are to be expected. Global logistics companies relying on “just in time” are facing yet another setback.
Tensions between China and Canada have reached a new high. Yesterday, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to eleven years in prison. The day before, a death sentence against Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was upheld. The sentences have led to an outrage among Western diplomats and politicians. Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas criticized the ruling: “The trial of Michael Spavor was held behind closed doors and his consular rights were restricted in a manner contrary to international law.” Christiane Kühl reports on the background and how the verdicts are connected to the trial of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
It would be unthinkable for German newspapers to dedicate every second news piece to Angela Merkel – and to find only words of praise. The situation is different in China’s state media, on whose front pages Xi Jinping’s name is often omnipresent. This extensive coverage is further evidence of the immense cult of personality built around Xi. But on social media and among China’s younger generation, pop stars and actresses remain more popular. Ning Wang explains why the fall of pop idol Kris Wu is in the CCP’s best interests and the resulting consequences for Western brands advertising with China’s entertainment celebrities.
Once again, a Canadian citizen has been given a harsh sentence in China. Yesterday, a court in Dandong, located on the border to North Korea, sentenced Michael Spavor, a businessman who has been held in custody since 2018, to 11 years in prison on charges of espionage. Just this Tuesday, the Shenyang appeals court upheld a death sentence handed down for drug trafficking against Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg in January 2019 (as reported by China.Table).
The timing of these verdicts is likely no coincidence. The trial over the US extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, currently held under house arrest in Canada, is entering its decisive phase. The timing of Spavor’s arrest was already related to Meng’s case: Spavor, like former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, had been taken into custody in December 2018 shortly after the Huawei executive was detained in Vancouver. Both were charged with espionage in June 2020; Kovrig is still awaiting sentencing. Schellenberg was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2018. That sentence was found to be too lax – conspicuously just after Meng’s arrest – and was commuted to a death sentence.
The cases have strained relations between the two nations for years. Canada accuses Beijing of political motivation behind the “two Michael” cases and of attempts to influence Meng’s trial. Beijing, in turn, sees the latter as politically motivated: According to Beijing’s interpretation, Canada is acting under pressure from the USA. China has always rejected any connection between the trials against the Canadians and Meng’s arrest. The relationship between Beijing and Ottawa is likely to have reached a new low with this week’s verdicts.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the court’s decision on Wednesday, according to a report by news agency AFP: “The verdict for Mr. Spavor follows more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention, a lack of transparency in the legal process, and a trial that did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law.” Conversely, China’s embassy in Canada criticized the Chinese courts and its handling of the three detainees as “extremely absurd and hypocritical,” according to state-run newspaper Global Times. The EU also criticized the judicial proceedings. It had “repeatedly called on China to comply with its international legal obligations to ensure fair and due process for Spavor,” the European External Action Service stated. This had not happened. Canada’s ambassador Dominic Barton was allowed to attend the sentencing hearing – for the first time throughout the trial. He called the lengthy confinement “very disappointing”.
The exact nature of the charges against Spavor remains unclear. He is an expert on North Korean affairs and ran the company Paektu Cultural Exchange in Dandong, which specializes in organizing cultural exchanges, tourism and investments with North Korea. Spavor has met North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un several times – allegedly even over drinks on his yacht – and has, for example, organized the visits of former US basketball player Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang.
Much of the evidence presented at Spavor’s trial included photos he had taken around airports or those places where one should not take photos” in China, Ambassador Barton said, according to the South China Morning Post. Some pictures allegedly showed military aircraft. According to the Global Times, Spavor was said to have been a key source of information for the second detained Canadian, Michael Kovrig. Kovrig is accused of using an ordinary passport with a business visa to enter the People’s Republic since 2017 “to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China”. The opacity of China’s procedures makes it virtually impossible to fathom the validity of the allegations. Since 2017, Kovrig had previously worked as an expert on Northeast Asia for the think tank International Crisis Group, which has repeatedly called for his release. “Nothing Michael has done harmed China. On the contrary, the Crisis Group aims to defuse any tensions between China and neighboring states.”
Details of Meng’s extradition process are rarely the focus of international coverage. Yet, the case is quite interesting (as reported by China.Table). The USA accuses the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei of lying to the British multinational investment bank HSBC in 2013 in a PowerPoint presentation about the business dealings of Huawei subsidiary Skycom in Iran – putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Tehran. Meng denies the allegations. The U.S. also imposes sanctions on foreign companies that do business with Iran – to the criticism of many nations, including the EU and China. This gave the case a geopolitical component from the start.
Exculpatory HSBC documents obtained by Meng were recently rejected by extradition judge Heather Holmes as not relevant to the case. These documents relate to a possible main trial in the US, Holmes stated. To avoid extradition, Meng would have to prove she is a victim of abuse of process, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. This was the angle of several renowned Canadian lawyers of the Huawei executive. They argue that the entire case is based on political motives of former U.S. President Donald Trump and that the U.S. misled the court by presenting unreliable evidence, the violation of international law by the extradition request, and that the Canadian border police violated their own charter through the arrest of Meng at Vancouver airport. The list is highly political in nature.
The ongoing hearing will continue until August 20. Only then can Justice Holmes decide whether to recommend Meng’s release or extradition to a court in New York. The final decision will be made by Canada’s Minister of Justice David Lametti. His ministry’s lawyers are, ironically, representing the US in the trial.
Will the decision on Meng end up being a political one? And could the harsh sentences be Beijing’s leverage? No one is talking about it publicly. There are still at least formal last resorts for all accused. Spavor has the right to appeal his sentence today. And the death penalty for Schellenberg still has to be confirmed in the last instance by China’s Supreme Court, as has been the rule for several years. The chances are likely riding on the court ruling on Meng. Canada will continue to demand the immediate release of Spavor and Kovrig, Ambassador Barton said. For Schellenberg, he said, a pardon is sought. The matter is gradually gaining heat.
Kris Wu is revered like a saint by his fans. Since the 30-year-old superstar made his debut in China with the South Korean boy group Exo in 2012, he has risen to become one of the most famous celebrities. In China, Wu performs as a solo artist, actor and rapper under the name Wu Yifan. “His prominence and influence in China’s pop culture are roughly equivalent to Tencent’s importance for China’s tech industry,” an expert described.
Wu’s fan base mainly consists of young girls and women who would “do anything” for him, as many of them have repeatedly professed on social media. But Wu’s Prince Charming image is beginning to show cracks: Du Meizhu, a 19-year-old female influencer, accuses Wu of rape in several instances. He allegedly also sexually assaulted underage girls in some cases. Wu is said to have lured girls in with promises of a job in his empire – as it happened to Meizhu when she was only 17 years old. The artist was arrested following these allegations.
Kris Wu has thus become undesirable in the Chinese music industry. He finds himself amidst a government-driven purge under the slogan “Healthy Cultural Education”. Beijing is using the accusations against the pop star to exert even more control over the entertainment industry. And the tools used to do so are illustrated by the authorities’ actions against Wu: The authorities blocked his Weibo account, which serves as a communication channel with his fans and the public. However, it did not stop there. Wu’s music and movies were also pulled from all major streaming providers in China. And because that still didn’t have the desired effect, most recently, posts made by fans in Wu’s defense were censored and deleted. The determination displayed by China’s leadership regarding Wu can also be observed in other areas of the entertainment industry.
Only recently, new rules of conduct for actors, celebrities and starlets were established, denouncing the wearing of earrings by men, display of tattoos and the use of inappropriate language. Which are primarily to protect the Chinese youth from negative influences.
State media have repeatedly seized on the issue since Wu’s arrest in late July to steer the discussion. Editorials have stressed that “fame and fortune are not above the law.” In Wu’s case, there is an added political component, as the teen idol was born in Guangzhou but emigrated to Canada with his mother twenty years ago and now holds a Canadian passport. As a result, Wu is often referred to as the Justin Bieber of China. Since 2017, Bieber has been unwelcome in China for the time being due to “inappropriate bad behavior in the performing arts,” the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture announced at the time when the pop artist skipped China on his Asia tour.
The state newspaper Global Times commented that foreign citizenship is no protection. No matter how famous one is, there is no immunity. If you break the law, you will be punished. “The higher the popularity, the more you must be self-disciplined; the more popular you are, the more you must abide by the law,” the article continues. This sounds like a warning to the entire industry. And there are parallels to purges in the political establishment.
At the beginning of his term, state and party leader Xi Jinping launched a tough “anti-corruption campaign” against cadres who disobey the law and lead lavish lifestyles. The current extension to influencers, superstars and actors in the entertainment industry is almost a logical next step. After all, hardly any other group has a bigger impact on China’s youth and creates personality cults that, in the CCP’s understanding, only Xi Jinping has a claim to.
However, the allegations against Wu have also reignited the MeToo debate in China. So far, Chinese authorities have regularly reacted by censoring the victims’ allegations of abuse. The fear of unrest in the public and the emergence of new forms of grassroots activism was considered too great.
Wu’s arrest and downfall also affected the business community, as Wu was most recently a brand ambassador for at least 16 Chinese and international brands, including Porsche, Bulgari, and cosmetics companies like Lancôme. All brands have put their collaborations on hold for the time being. In doing so, the government is, in its view, directly addressing the root of all evil. After all, celebrities in the entertainment industry often receive a large share of their sponsorship or advertising money from foreign companies. The influence of these companies on the consumer behavior of young people in the People’s Republic is therefore substantial.
Beijing’s rules of conduct for celebrities send a clear signal. The entertainment industry and foreign brands advertising with China’s celebrities are to remember that they do not only conclude their advertising deals with China’s stars, but also indirectly with the CCP. If the stars happen to find themselves among scandals or missteps, Beijing’s ban can quickly affect the image and sales of Western brands.
Florian Wolff has been extensively involved with China since 2007. In his opinion, the country has already undergone “five total changes” during this time. The renowned lawyer, who was a partner at the commercial law firm GvW for many years, now heads the China Desk of the major law firm Görg. He recalls his first trips to Shanghai, when the city resembled Asian metropolises from liberal countries. “But the last time I was in Shanghai, the city was covered with red flags on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic. This was never seen before,” Wolff remarks. But changes are not only pushed by the CCP leadership, as he knows to report.
His area of expertise is primarily mergers & acquisitions (M&A). Specifically, Wolff advises private Chinese companies looking to invest in Germany or other European countries. However, the reluctance on the Chinese part has increased recently. While in 2018/19, the M&A business was still booming, it has shrunk in the meantime. “On the one hand, this is due to the fact that Chinese companies got burned financially in transactions here in Europe,” says Wolff.
But probably even more impactful is the German attitude. “Mr. Altmaier with his rhetoric, which in parts has to be interpreted as anti-Chinese, and the lengthy and terribly bureaucratic approval procedures Altmaier has installed – that’s already a big deterrent in China,” he says. His verdict is that the cooling of the M&A market from China to Germany is primarily homemade by the government. If Chinese companies were allowed to operate more freely, investment in German SMEs, which Wolff specializes in, would be much higher.
However, Chinese interests remain very high and one should not give too much credence to Beijing’s rhetoric regarding technological independence, says Wolff. “The fact is, in many areas of mechanical engineering, in many areas of the automotive supply industry, but also in areas of medical technology and even in electrical engineering, China still needs to rely on a great number of technologies it cannot create on its own,” says Wolff. That is why they want continued access to German development and research capacities.
As a lawyer, however, other areas of responsibility arise for him as well. For example, he and his law firm are increasingly allowed to negotiate international trade agreements within the supply chain between Germany and China. “Chinese state-owned enterprises realize that they are simply bad at marketing their products around the globe. That’s why they are looking for distribution partners in Europe and testing distribution channels to generate more business abroad,” Wolff explains.
As head of the China Desk at Görg, he works with five native speakers on his team, including Jia Ding, who is also admitted to practice law in China. While Wolff himself was not yet geared towards China at the start of his career, he had long set his gaze eastward. In the 1990s, he completed part of his legal training in the Moscow office of a major law firm.
A few years later, regular travel to China began. In addition to business meetings, Wolff had always tried to gain a better understanding of the people and culture in the big cities. Understandably, he is not happy about recent developments. “In the last 15 years, China has become much more closed off. There is a lot bigger emphasis on national pride and people are becoming more intolerant of internal or external criticism,” Wolff assesses.
However, he always has enjoyed traveling to the People’s Republic. “Being the architecture geek that I am, my heart goes out to the French Concession in Shanghai and the colonial architecture, even in other cities, because it sends out a whole different flair,” Wolff says. “Culturally, what appeals to me most in Beijing is the National Center for Performing Arts. I’ve seen a lot of concerts there by artists around the world. Whenever I’m in Beijing, I try to get a ticket because it also has a great urban society, which is a rare thing in most other parts of China.” Constantin Eckner
Five arms for dozens of aircraft – the new airport in Qingdao opens today. The new airport is expected to reach an annual passenger volume of 35 million by 2025. Beijing plans 400 additional airports in the country by 2035 (as reported by China.Table).
The spectacular footage of the Ever Given accident in the Suez Canal is already one of the images of the year. Yet, according to the German economy, the Covid cases at Chinese ports have a much greater impact on global supply chains. Yesterday, another employee was hit. This time at China’s second-largest port, which immediately shut down operations as a result. Once again, delays are to be expected. Global logistics companies relying on “just in time” are facing yet another setback.
Tensions between China and Canada have reached a new high. Yesterday, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to eleven years in prison. The day before, a death sentence against Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was upheld. The sentences have led to an outrage among Western diplomats and politicians. Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas criticized the ruling: “The trial of Michael Spavor was held behind closed doors and his consular rights were restricted in a manner contrary to international law.” Christiane Kühl reports on the background and how the verdicts are connected to the trial of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
It would be unthinkable for German newspapers to dedicate every second news piece to Angela Merkel – and to find only words of praise. The situation is different in China’s state media, on whose front pages Xi Jinping’s name is often omnipresent. This extensive coverage is further evidence of the immense cult of personality built around Xi. But on social media and among China’s younger generation, pop stars and actresses remain more popular. Ning Wang explains why the fall of pop idol Kris Wu is in the CCP’s best interests and the resulting consequences for Western brands advertising with China’s entertainment celebrities.
Once again, a Canadian citizen has been given a harsh sentence in China. Yesterday, a court in Dandong, located on the border to North Korea, sentenced Michael Spavor, a businessman who has been held in custody since 2018, to 11 years in prison on charges of espionage. Just this Tuesday, the Shenyang appeals court upheld a death sentence handed down for drug trafficking against Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg in January 2019 (as reported by China.Table).
The timing of these verdicts is likely no coincidence. The trial over the US extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, currently held under house arrest in Canada, is entering its decisive phase. The timing of Spavor’s arrest was already related to Meng’s case: Spavor, like former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, had been taken into custody in December 2018 shortly after the Huawei executive was detained in Vancouver. Both were charged with espionage in June 2020; Kovrig is still awaiting sentencing. Schellenberg was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2018. That sentence was found to be too lax – conspicuously just after Meng’s arrest – and was commuted to a death sentence.
The cases have strained relations between the two nations for years. Canada accuses Beijing of political motivation behind the “two Michael” cases and of attempts to influence Meng’s trial. Beijing, in turn, sees the latter as politically motivated: According to Beijing’s interpretation, Canada is acting under pressure from the USA. China has always rejected any connection between the trials against the Canadians and Meng’s arrest. The relationship between Beijing and Ottawa is likely to have reached a new low with this week’s verdicts.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sharply criticized the court’s decision on Wednesday, according to a report by news agency AFP: “The verdict for Mr. Spavor follows more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention, a lack of transparency in the legal process, and a trial that did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law.” Conversely, China’s embassy in Canada criticized the Chinese courts and its handling of the three detainees as “extremely absurd and hypocritical,” according to state-run newspaper Global Times. The EU also criticized the judicial proceedings. It had “repeatedly called on China to comply with its international legal obligations to ensure fair and due process for Spavor,” the European External Action Service stated. This had not happened. Canada’s ambassador Dominic Barton was allowed to attend the sentencing hearing – for the first time throughout the trial. He called the lengthy confinement “very disappointing”.
The exact nature of the charges against Spavor remains unclear. He is an expert on North Korean affairs and ran the company Paektu Cultural Exchange in Dandong, which specializes in organizing cultural exchanges, tourism and investments with North Korea. Spavor has met North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un several times – allegedly even over drinks on his yacht – and has, for example, organized the visits of former US basketball player Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang.
Much of the evidence presented at Spavor’s trial included photos he had taken around airports or those places where one should not take photos” in China, Ambassador Barton said, according to the South China Morning Post. Some pictures allegedly showed military aircraft. According to the Global Times, Spavor was said to have been a key source of information for the second detained Canadian, Michael Kovrig. Kovrig is accused of using an ordinary passport with a business visa to enter the People’s Republic since 2017 “to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China”. The opacity of China’s procedures makes it virtually impossible to fathom the validity of the allegations. Since 2017, Kovrig had previously worked as an expert on Northeast Asia for the think tank International Crisis Group, which has repeatedly called for his release. “Nothing Michael has done harmed China. On the contrary, the Crisis Group aims to defuse any tensions between China and neighboring states.”
Details of Meng’s extradition process are rarely the focus of international coverage. Yet, the case is quite interesting (as reported by China.Table). The USA accuses the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei of lying to the British multinational investment bank HSBC in 2013 in a PowerPoint presentation about the business dealings of Huawei subsidiary Skycom in Iran – putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Tehran. Meng denies the allegations. The U.S. also imposes sanctions on foreign companies that do business with Iran – to the criticism of many nations, including the EU and China. This gave the case a geopolitical component from the start.
Exculpatory HSBC documents obtained by Meng were recently rejected by extradition judge Heather Holmes as not relevant to the case. These documents relate to a possible main trial in the US, Holmes stated. To avoid extradition, Meng would have to prove she is a victim of abuse of process, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. This was the angle of several renowned Canadian lawyers of the Huawei executive. They argue that the entire case is based on political motives of former U.S. President Donald Trump and that the U.S. misled the court by presenting unreliable evidence, the violation of international law by the extradition request, and that the Canadian border police violated their own charter through the arrest of Meng at Vancouver airport. The list is highly political in nature.
The ongoing hearing will continue until August 20. Only then can Justice Holmes decide whether to recommend Meng’s release or extradition to a court in New York. The final decision will be made by Canada’s Minister of Justice David Lametti. His ministry’s lawyers are, ironically, representing the US in the trial.
Will the decision on Meng end up being a political one? And could the harsh sentences be Beijing’s leverage? No one is talking about it publicly. There are still at least formal last resorts for all accused. Spavor has the right to appeal his sentence today. And the death penalty for Schellenberg still has to be confirmed in the last instance by China’s Supreme Court, as has been the rule for several years. The chances are likely riding on the court ruling on Meng. Canada will continue to demand the immediate release of Spavor and Kovrig, Ambassador Barton said. For Schellenberg, he said, a pardon is sought. The matter is gradually gaining heat.
Kris Wu is revered like a saint by his fans. Since the 30-year-old superstar made his debut in China with the South Korean boy group Exo in 2012, he has risen to become one of the most famous celebrities. In China, Wu performs as a solo artist, actor and rapper under the name Wu Yifan. “His prominence and influence in China’s pop culture are roughly equivalent to Tencent’s importance for China’s tech industry,” an expert described.
Wu’s fan base mainly consists of young girls and women who would “do anything” for him, as many of them have repeatedly professed on social media. But Wu’s Prince Charming image is beginning to show cracks: Du Meizhu, a 19-year-old female influencer, accuses Wu of rape in several instances. He allegedly also sexually assaulted underage girls in some cases. Wu is said to have lured girls in with promises of a job in his empire – as it happened to Meizhu when she was only 17 years old. The artist was arrested following these allegations.
Kris Wu has thus become undesirable in the Chinese music industry. He finds himself amidst a government-driven purge under the slogan “Healthy Cultural Education”. Beijing is using the accusations against the pop star to exert even more control over the entertainment industry. And the tools used to do so are illustrated by the authorities’ actions against Wu: The authorities blocked his Weibo account, which serves as a communication channel with his fans and the public. However, it did not stop there. Wu’s music and movies were also pulled from all major streaming providers in China. And because that still didn’t have the desired effect, most recently, posts made by fans in Wu’s defense were censored and deleted. The determination displayed by China’s leadership regarding Wu can also be observed in other areas of the entertainment industry.
Only recently, new rules of conduct for actors, celebrities and starlets were established, denouncing the wearing of earrings by men, display of tattoos and the use of inappropriate language. Which are primarily to protect the Chinese youth from negative influences.
State media have repeatedly seized on the issue since Wu’s arrest in late July to steer the discussion. Editorials have stressed that “fame and fortune are not above the law.” In Wu’s case, there is an added political component, as the teen idol was born in Guangzhou but emigrated to Canada with his mother twenty years ago and now holds a Canadian passport. As a result, Wu is often referred to as the Justin Bieber of China. Since 2017, Bieber has been unwelcome in China for the time being due to “inappropriate bad behavior in the performing arts,” the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture announced at the time when the pop artist skipped China on his Asia tour.
The state newspaper Global Times commented that foreign citizenship is no protection. No matter how famous one is, there is no immunity. If you break the law, you will be punished. “The higher the popularity, the more you must be self-disciplined; the more popular you are, the more you must abide by the law,” the article continues. This sounds like a warning to the entire industry. And there are parallels to purges in the political establishment.
At the beginning of his term, state and party leader Xi Jinping launched a tough “anti-corruption campaign” against cadres who disobey the law and lead lavish lifestyles. The current extension to influencers, superstars and actors in the entertainment industry is almost a logical next step. After all, hardly any other group has a bigger impact on China’s youth and creates personality cults that, in the CCP’s understanding, only Xi Jinping has a claim to.
However, the allegations against Wu have also reignited the MeToo debate in China. So far, Chinese authorities have regularly reacted by censoring the victims’ allegations of abuse. The fear of unrest in the public and the emergence of new forms of grassroots activism was considered too great.
Wu’s arrest and downfall also affected the business community, as Wu was most recently a brand ambassador for at least 16 Chinese and international brands, including Porsche, Bulgari, and cosmetics companies like Lancôme. All brands have put their collaborations on hold for the time being. In doing so, the government is, in its view, directly addressing the root of all evil. After all, celebrities in the entertainment industry often receive a large share of their sponsorship or advertising money from foreign companies. The influence of these companies on the consumer behavior of young people in the People’s Republic is therefore substantial.
Beijing’s rules of conduct for celebrities send a clear signal. The entertainment industry and foreign brands advertising with China’s celebrities are to remember that they do not only conclude their advertising deals with China’s stars, but also indirectly with the CCP. If the stars happen to find themselves among scandals or missteps, Beijing’s ban can quickly affect the image and sales of Western brands.
Florian Wolff has been extensively involved with China since 2007. In his opinion, the country has already undergone “five total changes” during this time. The renowned lawyer, who was a partner at the commercial law firm GvW for many years, now heads the China Desk of the major law firm Görg. He recalls his first trips to Shanghai, when the city resembled Asian metropolises from liberal countries. “But the last time I was in Shanghai, the city was covered with red flags on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic. This was never seen before,” Wolff remarks. But changes are not only pushed by the CCP leadership, as he knows to report.
His area of expertise is primarily mergers & acquisitions (M&A). Specifically, Wolff advises private Chinese companies looking to invest in Germany or other European countries. However, the reluctance on the Chinese part has increased recently. While in 2018/19, the M&A business was still booming, it has shrunk in the meantime. “On the one hand, this is due to the fact that Chinese companies got burned financially in transactions here in Europe,” says Wolff.
But probably even more impactful is the German attitude. “Mr. Altmaier with his rhetoric, which in parts has to be interpreted as anti-Chinese, and the lengthy and terribly bureaucratic approval procedures Altmaier has installed – that’s already a big deterrent in China,” he says. His verdict is that the cooling of the M&A market from China to Germany is primarily homemade by the government. If Chinese companies were allowed to operate more freely, investment in German SMEs, which Wolff specializes in, would be much higher.
However, Chinese interests remain very high and one should not give too much credence to Beijing’s rhetoric regarding technological independence, says Wolff. “The fact is, in many areas of mechanical engineering, in many areas of the automotive supply industry, but also in areas of medical technology and even in electrical engineering, China still needs to rely on a great number of technologies it cannot create on its own,” says Wolff. That is why they want continued access to German development and research capacities.
As a lawyer, however, other areas of responsibility arise for him as well. For example, he and his law firm are increasingly allowed to negotiate international trade agreements within the supply chain between Germany and China. “Chinese state-owned enterprises realize that they are simply bad at marketing their products around the globe. That’s why they are looking for distribution partners in Europe and testing distribution channels to generate more business abroad,” Wolff explains.
As head of the China Desk at Görg, he works with five native speakers on his team, including Jia Ding, who is also admitted to practice law in China. While Wolff himself was not yet geared towards China at the start of his career, he had long set his gaze eastward. In the 1990s, he completed part of his legal training in the Moscow office of a major law firm.
A few years later, regular travel to China began. In addition to business meetings, Wolff had always tried to gain a better understanding of the people and culture in the big cities. Understandably, he is not happy about recent developments. “In the last 15 years, China has become much more closed off. There is a lot bigger emphasis on national pride and people are becoming more intolerant of internal or external criticism,” Wolff assesses.
However, he always has enjoyed traveling to the People’s Republic. “Being the architecture geek that I am, my heart goes out to the French Concession in Shanghai and the colonial architecture, even in other cities, because it sends out a whole different flair,” Wolff says. “Culturally, what appeals to me most in Beijing is the National Center for Performing Arts. I’ve seen a lot of concerts there by artists around the world. Whenever I’m in Beijing, I try to get a ticket because it also has a great urban society, which is a rare thing in most other parts of China.” Constantin Eckner
Five arms for dozens of aircraft – the new airport in Qingdao opens today. The new airport is expected to reach an annual passenger volume of 35 million by 2025. Beijing plans 400 additional airports in the country by 2035 (as reported by China.Table).
