Background

A Saudi trading company signed a $2 million procurement contract with a Chinese supplier through a B2B platform for electronic products. After the goods arrived at the port, the Saudi client found that the product specifications seriously did not match the contract agreement, and some products had quality issues.

Challenge

The client had already paid a 30% deposit (about $600,000), and the supplier refused to acknowledge the quality issues and threatened to sue the client for breach of contract if the balance was not paid. The client faced a dilemma: paying the balance might result in greater losses, while refusing to pay could lead to litigation.

Strategy

• Immediately commissioned a third-party testing agency to conduct quality identification of sealed samples and obtain authoritative evidence.
• Sent a formal lawyer's letter to the supplier, pointing out its breach of contract facts, requesting suspension of performance and initiation of negotiations.
• Filed an arbitration application with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) to promote settlement through arbitration.

Background

A Middle Eastern home furnishing brand found that the design of its best-selling products was imitated by a Chinese factory and sold to the Middle Eastern market through cross-border e-commerce platforms, seriously affecting brand reputation and genuine product sales.

Challenge

The brand had not previously applied for design patents in China, nor had it registered trademarks. The counterfeit products were low-priced, and the imitation factory was located in China, making rights protection face difficulties in evidence collection and infringement determination.

Strategy

• Immediately commissioned us to submit trademark registration applications in China and simultaneously apply for design patents.
• Obtained counterfeit product samples and transaction records from e-commerce platforms through notarized purchases to fix infringement evidence.
• Filed complaints through the e-commerce platform's intellectual property complaint channel and removed 12 infringing links.
• Sent a lawyer's letter to the imitation factory, requiring it to immediately stop production, destroy molds, and commit to no further infringement.

Background

A multinational group with Middle Eastern background planned to acquire a controlling stake in a Chinese technology company, with a transaction valuation of about 200 million RMB. The target company owned multiple core software copyrights and a research and development team.

Challenge

The target company's equity structure was relatively complex, involving offshore VIE architecture; there were defects in the ownership of intellectual property rights of its core technologies; and there were undisclosed related party transactions and hidden debt risks.

Strategy

• Formed a special team to conduct a 4-week legal due diligence covering equity, intellectual property, labor, tax, compliance and other fields.
• Negotiated with the target company regarding intellectual property defects, requiring it to transfer core technology copyrights from individual names to the company name before closing.
• Designed a transaction structure with installment payments, linking part of the consideration to post-closing performance targets to control client risk.
• Added representation and warranty clauses in the equity agreement to clarify the seller's liability for hidden debts.

Background

A Saudi manufacturing enterprise signed a production line procurement contract with a Chinese equipment supplier, with a contract amount of $5 million. The equipment delivered by the Chinese supplier could not meet the production capacity standards agreed in the contract, and multiple debugging attempts failed.

Challenge

The dispute resolution institution agreed in the contract was a Chinese arbitration commission, applicable to Chinese law. The Saudi client was unfamiliar with the Chinese arbitration process and worried about procedural unfairness. At the same time, the equipment had been installed, and the cost of dismantling and returning was extremely high.

Strategy

• Explained the fairness and international recognition of the Chinese arbitration process to the client in detail to eliminate doubts.
• Hired industry technical experts to issue an independent equipment performance evaluation report as key evidence for arbitration.
• In the arbitration request, instead of requesting return of goods, claimed a reduction in price (calculated according to the production capacity gap) and requested compensation for shutdown losses.
• Used the mediation suggestions issued by the arbitration tribunal to proactively conduct settlement negotiations with the other party.

Background

A Saudi SME planned to establish a long-term procurement cooperation with a Chinese trading company, with an annual procurement amount expected to be $3 million. Before signing the contract, the client commissioned us to conduct a business background verification on the company.

Challenge

The target company claimed to have its own factory and export qualifications, and the quotation was lower than the market average. The client was under time pressure and needed to make a decision within a week.

Strategy

• Verified basic information such as business license, registered capital, and business scope through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
• Queried credit records such as court executees, dishonest executees, and administrative penalties.
• Commissioned local partners to conduct on-site visits to its registered address to verify the authenticity of business premises.
• Searched publicly available online information to screen for negative public opinion.

Background

A Saudi trading company had a representative office in China responsible for procurement and inspection. When the company remitted profits to its overseas parent company each year, it was withheld and paid 10% withholding income tax, and the client thought the tax burden was too high.

Challenge

The client was unclear whether the tax treaty between China and Saudi Arabia had more preferential tax rates; the functional positioning of the representative office was vague, and there might be a risk of being identified as a "permanent establishment".

Strategy

• Studied the China-Saudi tax treaty and confirmed the preferential tax rates for dividends, interest, and royalties under the treaty.
• Analyzed the actual business activities of the representative office to assess whether it constituted "preparatory or auxiliary" activities to determine permanent establishment risk.
• Assisted the client in preparing filing materials for enjoying tax treaty treatment and applied to the tax authority to pay withholding income tax according to the preferential tax rate of the treaty.
• Suggested the client adjust the functions of the representative office and the contract signing process to reduce the risk of permanent establishment identification.