JC Master Legal News Issue 1212

Key Takeaways for This Issue

Finance and Capital Markets

FINANCE & CAPITAL MARKETS 
 

The People’s Bank of China has established a repurchase facility for overseas central bank‑type institutions.

On June 17, the People’s Bank of China issued an announcement establishing a repurchase facility for overseas central bank‑type institutions.

The announcement clarifies that the People’s Bank of China will provide RMB liquidity to eligible foreign central banks or monetary authorities, international financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds through its repurchase‑agreement facility for overseas central bank‑type institutions. The operations may be conducted on a collateralized or outright basis; eligible bonds include high‑grade RMB‑denominated securities such as Chinese government bonds, central bank bills, and policy‑based financial bonds, all approved by the People’s Bank of China. Tenors comprise 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months, while the repo rates are determined by adding a spread to the People’s Bank of China’s 7‑day reverse‑repo rate in the open market.

The People’s Bank of China has optimized the mechanism for its open market operations involving temporary overnight reverse and regular repurchase agreements.

On June 17, the People’s Bank of China issued an announcement to optimize the mechanisms for its open-market temporary overnight reverse and reverse repurchase operations.

According to the announcement, the People’s Bank of China has decided, effective immediately, to optimize the parameters of its open-market temporary overnight reverse and regular repurchase operations by adjusting the operating hours to 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on business days, and by setting the operation rates at the open-market 7-day reverse repo rate minus 25 basis points and plus 25 basis points, respectively. The announcement also clarifies the rules for using these instruments: when the overnight money market rate (DR001) remains persistently below or above the corresponding instrument’s operation rate, the People’s Bank of China will, in consultation with the primary dealers in open-market operations, initiate the relevant operations.

Six departments have jointly issued the Shanghai Offshore Financial Action Plan.

Recently, the People’s Bank of China and five other departments issued the “Notice on the Issuance of the Action Plan for Developing Offshore Finance in the Shanghai International Financial Center.” 
 

The Action Plan proposes launching pilot programs for offshore finance in the Pudong New Area, leveraging FT accounts and OSA accounts to optimize cross-border fund and account management, and advancing the development of cross-border and offshore infrastructure for digital RMB. The initial pilot initiatives cover offshore trade finance, free-trade‑zone offshore bonds, offshore reinsurance, treasury‑center fund operations, offshore RMB‑foreign exchange trading, and financial services for non‑resident individuals, while also specifying arrangements for balance-of-payments reporting, tax‑related information due diligence and submission, regulatory coordination, monitoring and early warning, and risk mitigation. 
 

The National Administration of Financial Regulation has released its 2026 regulatory drafting work plan.

Recently, the National Administration of Financial Regulation released the “2026 Regulatory Development Work Plan of the National Administration of Financial Regulation.” 
 

The plan specifies that seven regulations are slated for promulgation by 2026, including the formulation of the Measures for the Administration of Insurance Companies’ Assets and Liabilities, the Measures for the Administration of Information Disclosure by Financial Institutions, and the Measures for the Administration of Asset Management Trusts, as well as the revision of rules governing the supervisory responsibilities of branch institutions, off-site supervision, administrative licensing for rural small and medium-sized banking institutions, and the handling of financial consumer complaints by banking and insurance institutions. In addition, 11 preliminary projects have been identified, covering areas such as the deployment of insurance funds, solvency, liquidity risk, administrative reconsideration, cybersecurity, board operations, pawnbroking, qualification requirements for senior executives of insurance companies, financial asset management companies, on-site inspections, and consumer rights protection. 
 

The Shanghai Stock Exchange has issued the fifth set of listing criteria for artificial intelligence large‑model companies on the STAR Market.

Recently, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the “Guidance on the Application of Rules for Issuance and Listing Review No. 10—Application of the Fifth Set of Listing Criteria of the STAR Market to Enterprises Developing Large-Scale Artificial Intelligence Models” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidance”), which shall take effect from the date of its promulgation. 
 

The Guidelines adhere to the relevant requirements of the STAR Market’s Fifth Listing Standard and, in light of the actual conditions of technological innovation in the field of large AI models, set forth specific provisions covering four key aspects: demonstrable technological advantages, interim achievements, approval from relevant national authorities, and substantial market potential. Notably, the Guidelines define the interim achievements that qualify for the STAR Market’s Fifth Listing Standard as follows: “At the time of filing, at least one large‑model product must have been launched and put into production, achieving large‑scale deployment.” Furthermore, the Guidelines explicitly designate the issuer’s principal business as “the independent research and development of general‑purpose large AI models, model‑related services, or model applications,” while also allowing both general‑purpose and industry‑specific large models to be subject to these Guidelines concurrently. 
 

Business and Corporations

COMMERCIAL & CORPORATE 
 

Five departments have launched a three-year campaign to tackle energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries.

On June 15, 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the “Notice on Launching a Three-Year Campaign to Tackle Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Key Industries.” 
 

The Action Plan specifies that, starting in 2026, a three-year initiative will be launched to promote energy‑saving and carbon‑reduction upgrades across nine industries: steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, flat glass, oil refining, ethylene production, synthetic ammonia, methanol, and coal‑fired power. By the end of 2028, the share of production capacity in these industrial sectors reaching current benchmark energy‑efficiency levels is expected to increase by an average of 20 percentage points, with coal‑fired power seeing a 15‑percentage‑point rise; moreover, capacity below the baseline energy‑efficiency level is to be virtually eliminated. The document further details retrofit requirements for key process steps and sets thresholds for upgrading outdated equipment, while stipulating that eligible projects may receive subsidies amounting to 20% of the approved total investment. Provincial authorities are required to submit comprehensive implementation plans and lists of participating enterprises by the end of July 2026, and to conduct annual follow‑up assessments and targeted inspections. 
 

The Secretariat of the CNCA has issued interpretations of two management system certification rules.

On June 16, 2026, the Secretariat of the CNCA issued the “Notice on the Publication of the Interpretations of the ‘Rules for Certification of Measurement Management Systems’ and the ‘Rules for Certification of Intellectual Property Management Systems.’” 
 

The two sets of interpretations respectively clarify the scope of application, certification basis, and basic requirements for certification bodies pertaining to measurement management systems and intellectual property management systems, and are applicable to relevant certification activities within China. The documents further specify requirements regarding certification body qualifications, the number and competency criteria for full-time auditors and auditors in specialized fields, risk prevention measures, impartiality, and confidentiality obligations, and mandate that certificates list the currently valid standards. Both regulations explicitly stipulate that the total on-site audit time per auditor shall not exceed 180 days per certification cycle, that the average number of valid certification certificates held by each auditor shall not exceed 50 per cycle, that auditors without the requisite registration qualifications may not be assigned to conduct audits, and that advertising must not include statements such as “certificates can be verified on the website of the CNCA.” 
 

Beijing launches the Ten Major Action Plans for Optimizing the Business Environment in 2026.

On June 16, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission unveiled Beijing’s Ten Major Initiatives for Optimizing the Business Environment in 2026. 
 

The ten major initiatives include: department and bureau directors walking through business processes; delivering enterprise‑friendly policies with precision and speed; upgrading one‑stop municipal installation services; enhancing the standardization of registration procedures; taking enforcement and service delivery a step further; optimizing the online business environment; providing end‑to‑end support for industrial development; tackling grassroots reform and innovation; leveraging corporate credit to create added value; and facilitating cross‑border trade. These measures cover improvements to enterprise‑related approval processes and integrated “one‑thing” service experiences, the unified release of inclusive fiscal incentives and subsidies while streamlining application steps, documentation requirements, and processing timelines, the launch of standardized premises‑use modules and the establishment of a registered‑address database, “appointment‑based” compliance guidance, the dynamic updating of the “no‑unnecessary‑intervention” enterprise list, the expansion of the “credit‑based certification” scheme, as well as streamlined customs clearance for imported consumer goods, frozen and fresh aquatic products, and pharmaceuticals. 
 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the U.S. decision to temporarily suspend the inclusion of Chinese companies on its Entity List.

On June 17, at its regular press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the U.S. decision to temporarily refrain from adding several Chinese companies, including DeepSeek, to its Entity List. 
 

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian stated that China has consistently opposed the U.S. side’s practice of broadly defining national security, abusing export control tools such as the Entity List, and seeking to contain and suppress Chinese enterprises. In response to reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce has temporarily suspended the inclusion of several Chinese companies on the Export Control Entity List, the Foreign Ministry reiterated that the U.S. should cease politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing economic, trade, and technological issues. 
 

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments have issued the Action Plan for Coordinated Development among Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises in the Platform Economy.

On June 18, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments released the “Action Plan for Promoting Collaborative Development among Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises in the Platform Economy (2026–2028).” 
 

The Action Plan calls for strengthening synergy across three key areas: innovation, ecology, and openness. It encourages platform enterprises and SMEs to collaborate on tackling critical challenges in fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, next-generation operating systems, and smart terminals, while establishing a “challenge‑announcement–challenge‑response” mechanism. The plan also seeks to develop new business models, including livestream e‑commerce, instant retail, and shared manufacturing. The document explicitly outlines measures to improve platform compliance management, facilitate consultations on major issues, and enhance governance of algorithms and traffic flows; it further aims to standardize fee structures and intra‑platform competition, and to crack down on the online sale of counterfeit and substandard goods. In addition, it promotes platform interoperability, establishes standards for data interfaces and system migration, fosters collaboration between industrial large models and specialized small models, opens up technical tools and data resources, and advances the pooling and open sharing of computing power. 
 

Litigation and Arbitration

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION

The Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security has released 10 typical cases of online rumor‑related illegal and criminal activities.

On June 15, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security released ten typical cases of cracking down on and rectifying online rumor‑related illegal and criminal activities. 
 

The cases involve fabricating and disseminating false information related to personal injury or death, misleading policies, food safety, and other topics. These include concocting a serious car accident at the entrance of a high school, spreading rumors about “new driving‑test items in Suzhou, Anhui, starting in 2026,” and inventing falsehoods such as “people being arrested for organ trafficking,” “criminal gangs deliberately setting fires,” “a Myanmar‑based industrial park,” and “conflicts between truck drivers and shippers.” Additionally, perpetrators have used AI‑generated fake interview videos to impersonate police officers for promotional purposes, attached captions about traffic accidents to funeral‑related footage, fabricated claims of allergic reactions to agricultural products, and posted rescue‑scene photos to falsely allege “organ‑snatching.” All individuals involved have been subject to administrative penalties by the local public security authorities. 
 

The Supreme People’s Court has released four typical cases of punishing dereliction-of-duty crimes in accordance with the law.

On June 18, the Supreme People’s Court released typical cases of punishing dereliction of duty crimes in accordance with the law. 
 

This release features four cases involving illegal borrowing, road construction projects, ecological and environmental protection, and state‑owned asset management. The cases demonstrate that those who accept bribes and abuse their authority, thereby causing substantial losses to public property and to the interests of the state and the people, are subject to strict punishment in accordance with the law. These include instances such as a municipal Party secretary illegally facilitating financing and incurring massive hidden debt; falsifying funding reports and misappropriating land‑acquisition and relocation funds in highway projects; exceeding statutory authority to approve projects while condoning illegal peat extraction; and making improper decisions and failing to exercise proper oversight in state‑funded investment initiatives. Following the conclusion of some cases, the courts also issued judicial recommendations addressing corporate governance, supervisory mechanisms, and risk‑early‑warning systems.