Rising geopolitical tensions have significantly amplified the risk of international investment for Chinese firms. How do they cope with it? What is the role of law? How do their coping strategies implicate U.S.-China relations?

These important questions have received little academic attention. To narrow the gap, Ji Li conducted multiyear surveys of Chinese companies operating in the U.S., which comprised about 180 interviews with business and legal professionals in addition to archival research involving numerous legal documents.

The study found a theoretically and empirically nuanced picture featuring firm-level variations based on multiple factors, such as ownership structure and cultural differences. Notably, the coping strategies, especially legal strategies, that Chinese firms adopted have lasting impacts on both U.S. law and U.S.-China relations.

Speaker:

Ji Li is the John S. and Marilyn Long Professor of U.S.-China Business and Law at UC Irvine. He received a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an Olin Fellow in Law, Economics and Public Policy. Li’s teaching and scholarship explore a broad range of topics, including Chinese law and politics, international business transactions, comparative law and empirical legal studies.

Moderator:

Kwai Ng is a renowned expert on the judiciary in China and Hong Kong. His research interests include the sociology of law, legal language and social theory. He has conducted field research on the grassroots courts in China and the bilingual courtrooms in Hong Kong. His book projects have examined language and law in postcolonial Hong Kong and judicial decision-making in China, and his publications have examined legal issues in China and Hong Kong from a variety of perspectives. His most recent book examines the many factors influencing decision-making in Chinese courts, furthering our understanding of courts in authoritarian settings. Ng is a member of China Data Lab, where he leads a project on divorce and law in China.

This public lecture is organized by the 21st Century China Center at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS). For more information on China activities, please visit china.ucsd.edu.