Miller & Martin Hosts a Discussion on U.S-China Business Opportunities with Zhong Fun and Printpack
On April 9, 2019, Gray McCalley and Ashley Halfman from Printpack and Scott Guan from Zhong Lun visited the Atlanta office of Miller & Martin PLLC for a discussion with Miller & Martin lawyers, from both Atlanta and Chattanooga, regarding cross-border business opportunities between the U.S. and China.
Printpack has been operating a facility in China for several years. Recently, Printpack was going through a transition with its Chinese legal representation. As a client and former Member at Miller & Martin, Ashley reached out to Joe DeLisle to get a recommendation for Chinese counsel. Joe recommended Scott Guan from the Zhong Lun law firm to Printpack. After careful consideration and interviews with other firms, Printpack engaged the Zhong Lun law firm.
After Joe launched the discussion with brief introductions and an overview, Scott described what types of U.S. Companies are attracted to investing in China and the issues they are facing from the Chinese perspective. Scott discussed the pros and cons of expanding and investing in China and how he sees businesses navigating CFIUS and evaluating opportunities with Chinese counterparties. Scott also gave an overview of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative and recent developments in Chinese foreign investment laws in connection with the on-going U.S./China trade wars.
Gray discussed Printpack’s expansion into China and the issues it faced. Gray and Ashley shared their perspective as in-house U.S. legal counsel with a Chinese subsidiary. Ashley spoke about managing the ongoing day-to-day operations with their plant, vendors and customers, and she also highlighted the considerations related to cultural differences and distance in working with their Chinese team.
Joe DeLisle of Miller & Martin moderated the panel. Zhong Lun and Miller & Martin are affiliated with each other through the World Law Group, an international network of more than 18,000 lawyers among 58 law firms in 85 countries.
