Skip to main content

Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

The US-China 'Trade War' and Liberalisation of China's Technology Transfer Rules

17 April 2019

China's technology transfer regime has been put into the spotlight in the context of the US-China "trade war." Shortly after China's state legislature passed the landmark Foreign Investment Law (FIL), the Chinese government quietly announced amendments to the Administrative Regulation on Technology Import and Export (TIER), which became effective on 18 March 2019. TIER is the primary regulation in the field of technology transfers into and out of China. The latest revisions remove certain provisions in respect of foreign technology transfer into China that were subject to the US criticism of China's "forced technology transfer" policy and have caused substantial confusion over the years.

Download PDF