Business Council for International Understanding – Grappling With COVID-19 Challenges in China
Region: Asia Pacific
18 March 2020
Though the number of PRC residents ill with COVID-19 is trending down and China’s economic engine is restarting, companies in China continue to grapple with multiple challenges. Please join Dan Roules and Ryan Chen, partners in our Shanghai office, for a “Behind the Headlines” briefing call on the legal and practical issues arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and the actions taken to contain it. The call will take place on Wednesday, March 18, at 8:30 a.m. ET. To provide insight into the complexities of conducting a manufacturing business in China during this difficult period, we have invited Eric Showalter, CEO of SeaLink International, to join and share his experiences and practical advice.
To ensure that participating executives have the opportunity to raise any specific questions and concerns, our lawyers will remain on the call for 30 minutes for a Q&A session.
Dan Roules is the managing partner of our Shanghai office. He has nearly 25 years of experience living and working in China. During that time, he has been witness to SARS, MERS, the avian flu and now COVID-19. Dan has a deep understanding of the unique complexities faced by multinational corporations operating in China during times of crisis and has offered legal advice to help them overcome challenges and minimize operational risks, in order to get back to normal business as quickly as possible.
Ryan Chen is a partner in our Shanghai office. He is a China-qualified lawyer who advises on the full range of legal areas in relation to business operations of foreign-invested enterprises in China. He counsels multinational corporations on M&A transactions, enterprise formation issues, competition rules under PRC law, employment matters, and intellectual property licensing and permits, as well as anticorruption compliance.
Eric Showalter is the CEO of SeaLink International, a Tier 2 automotive supplier, and Myotek, a Tier 1 automotive supplier. He has been doing business in China since 2004 and in Asia since 1996. SeaLink has two facilities near Shanghai that make automotive parts and Myotek has a major sourcing relationship with a company in Dongguang, Guangzhou. Eric has been a CEO in the automotive space for 14 years and worked in automotive components manufacturing for 26 years. He has experienced several disruptions, including SARS, N1H1, the Japanese Tsunami and now Covid-19.