Xin Min Gong: Chinese firms must be more aware of legal boundaries

Dalian: The industry should pay greater attention on basic law concepts when doing business, says Li Hongwei, chief partner of Liaoning Xin Min Gong law firm.

In some aspects, the maritime industry needs more professional and special law services as it is an international business with a lot of changes, however, in China, participants in the industry are not strict and professional enough to do business properly, Li says.

The industry players usually don’t think much of the legal effects when they go about ordering ships, sealing deals and so on. They misunderstand even basic law concepts, Li says.

“The whole industry needs to be regulated with more accuracy,” Li says, adding: “Shipping is not a simple industry with lots of changes, we need to catch up with the latest regulations and new rules of the industry worldwide and improve ourselves.”

Meanwhile, for the Chinese maritime industry players, especially those who have international business, it is important to set up internal law departments or get a law firm to help them to do business with less risks, and if allowed, have local law firm partners when their business arrives in a new region, as the local people know how things work in their domain, Li says.