Chao XI is Professor and Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he concurrently serves as Associate Dean (Research) and Head of Graduate Division of Law. He also directs the Chinese Law Program of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, CUHK.
Professor Xi specialises in comparative corporate law, securities regulation, and financial regulation, with a particular focus on the case of China. He has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed international journals, including the Banking and Finance Law Review, European Business Organization Law Review, Journal of Business Law, and Journal of Comparative Law, Statute Law Review, and Tort Law Review. His research has received significant funding support from the Hong Kong SAR Government Research Grants Council, the PRC Ministry of Education, the Government of India, and the Sumitomo Foundation. He has been appointed by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) of the Hong Kong SAR Government to serve on the Assessment Panel of its Public Policy Research (PPR) and Strategic Public Policy Research (SPPR) Funding Schemes.
Professor Xi holds visiting positions at various leading overseas institutions. He serves on the Editorial Board of a number of international peer-reviewed journals, including The China Review (SSCI-indexed), the Hong Kong Law (SSCI-indexed), and the Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice. Professor Xi is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), UK, and is on the panels of arbitrators in several arbitration institutions. He has regularly been engaged by law firms, multinationals, and government departments and agencies as an expert.
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD (University of London)
- LLM in Commercial and Corporate Law (University of London)
- LLB (Sun Yat-Sen University)
- Member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
AWARDS
- CUHK Research Excellence Award 2009-2010
- CUHK Vice-Chancellor’s Exemplary Teaching Award 2010
- CUHK Young Researcher Award 2011
- CUHK Vice-Chancellor’s Exemplary Teaching Award 2017
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Chinese Law
- Corporate Law and Governance
- Securities Regulation
- Financial Regulation
- Empirical Legal Studies
EXTERNALLY COMPETITIVE RESEARCH GRANTS
- Principal Investigator, ‘Corporate Boards in China’, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong SAR Research Grants Council, 2019-2021, HK 767,494
- Principal Investigator, ‘Shareholder Voting in China’, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong SAR Research Grants Council, 2017-2019, HK983,500
- Principal Investigator, ‘Public Enforcement of Securities Laws in China’, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong SAR Research Grants Council, 2014-2016, HK$734,750
- Principal Investigator, ‘The Political Economy of Corporate Law Reform in China: The Rise and Decline of the UK-Style Mandatory Bid Rule as a Case Study’, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong SAR Research Grants Council, 2012-2014, HK$467,059
- International Principal Investigator, ‘Re-examining Shareholder Voting and Engagement in Emerging Economies of PR China and India’, Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration, the Government of India, 2019-2020, INR ₹ 2,284,070
- Co-Principal Investigator, ‘Foreign M&A and National Industrial Security in China’, PRC Ministry of Education Key Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research, PRC Central Government, 2012-2014, RMB¥800,000
- Principal Investigator, ‘A Study on the Law and Practice of the Mandatory Bid Rule in Japan: Policy Implications for China’, The Sumitomo Foundation Grant for Japan-Related Research Projects, 2011-2012, US$9,000
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Books
- Corporate Governance and Legal Reform in China (London: Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing, 2009)
(reviewed in Compliance & Regulatory Journal, Journal of Business Law, and Zeitschrift für Chinesisches Recht)
- Doing Business in China (Third Edition) & (Fourth Edition) (London: Routledge, 2009 & 2016) (hardback and paperback) (with Tim Ambler & Morgen Witzel)
(reviewed in China Review International: ‘[This text] has become acknowledged as the bible for laˇo wài [foreigners] seeking to crack the China market.’)
Edited Volumes and Special Issues
- Legal Dimensions of the Belt and Road Initiative (Wolter Kluwers, 2016) (with Lutz-Christian Wolff)
(Reviewed in International Trade Law & Regulation)
- Special Issue on ‘Data-Driven Approaches to Studying Chinese Judicial Practice’, The China Review (May 2019) (with Björn Ahl and Lidong Cai)
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
- ‘Does Securities Enforcement Improve Disclosure Quality? An Examination of Chinese Listed Companies’ Restatement Activities’ Journal of Corporate Finance (2021 forthcoming) (with Ning Cao and Paul B. McGuinness)
- ‘Are US-Listed Chinese Firms a Minefield? A Board Perspective’ The International Lawyer (2021 forthcoming) (with Yurong Huang)
- ‘Financial Regulation as Interagency Competition? The Saga of Venture Capital Rule-making in China’, in Douglas Arner, Wai Yee Wan, Andrew J. Godwin and Wei Shen (eds.) Research Handbook on Asian Financial Law (Edward Elgar, 2020) 499 (with Sirui Han)
- ‘Shareholder Voting and Corporate Sustainability in China’, in Beate Sjåfjell and Christopher Bruner (eds.) Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability (Cambridge University Press 2019) 431
- ‘A Study on the Venture Capital Laws and Regulations in the EU and US: Implications for China’, 100 (Peking University) Financial Law Forum (2019) 188 (with Sirui Han)
- ‘Greater Transparency, Better Regulation? Evidence from Securities Enforcement Actions’ 14 Journal of Comparative Law (2019) 350 (with Ning Cao)
- ‘Data-Driven Approaches to Studying Chinese Judicial Practice: Opportunities, Challenges, and Issues’ (2019) 19 The China Review 1 (with Björn Ahl and Lidong Cai)
- ‘The Revolving Door: Does it Have an Impact on Public Securities Enforcement?’ 12 (2018: Issue 4) Tsinghua University Law Journal 7 (with Ning Cao and Haochuan Gong)
- ‘CSRC Enforcement of Securities Laws: Preliminary Empirical Findings’, in Sean Griffith, Jessica Erickson, David H. Webber and Verity Winship (eds.) Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation (Edward Elgar, 2018) 513
- ‘Public Enforcement of Securities Laws: A Case of Convergence?’ in Yun Zhao and Michael Ng (eds.) Chinese Legal Reform and the Global Legal Order: Adoption and Adaptation (Cambridge University Press, 2017) 81 (with Xuanming Pan)
- ‘Shadow Banking in China: Then and Now’ (2017) 28 Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice 146-157 (with Le Xia)
- ‘Legal and Regulatory Risks of “Belt of Road” Countries: An Index-Based Approach’ in Lutz-Christian Wolff and Chao Xi (eds.), Legal Dimensions of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative (Wolters Kluwer, 2016) 33
- ‘Financial Infrastructure of B&R: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – Governance Issues’ in Lutz-Christian Wolff and Chao Xi (eds.), Legal Dimensions of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative (Wolters Kluwer, 2016) 341
- ‘Why Has Basel III Become Hard Law for China? The Domestic Political Economy of International Financial Law’ in Ross Buckley, Douglas Arner and Avgouleas Emilios (eds), Rethinking Global Finance and Its Regulation (Cambridge University Press, 2016) 91
- ‘The Political Economy of Takeover Regulation: What Does the Mandatory Bid Rule in China Tell Us?’(2015) 58 Journal of Business Law 142
- ‘Ownership Bias in Takeover Approvals? A Study on the Regulatory Waivers of the Mandatory Takeover Bid’ (2015: Issue 4) China Management Studies 1 (with Li Shanmin, Wan Ziqiang, and Shi Xinxiang)
- ‘From Rule-Taker to Rule-Maker: China and International Banking Regulation’ in Friedl Weiss and Kammel Armin (eds.) The Changing Landscape of Global Financial Governance and the Role of Soft Law (Brill, 2015) 312
- ‘The Political Economy of Cumulative Voting: The Case of China’ (2014) 14 Asian Business Lawyer 61
- ‘Does Cumulative Voting Matter? The Case of China: An Empirical Assessment’ (2014) 15 European Business Organization Law Review 585 (with Yugang Chen)
- ‘Domestic Politics as International Norms: China’s Changing Roles in International Banking Regulation’ (2014) 30 Banking and Finance Law Review 69
- ‘Ralls Corporation v Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States: National Security Review in the United States and its Implications for China’ (2014) 54 Journal of Sun Yat-Sen University (Social Science Edition) 199 (with Shanmin Li and Ziqiang Wan)
- ‘Local Courts as Legislators? Judicial Lawmaking by Sub-National Courts in China’ (2012) 33 Statute Law Review 39
- ‘The Rise and Decline of the Reversal of the Burden of Proof in China’s Medical Negligence Law: A Political Economy of Lawmaking Perspective’ (2012) 12 The China Review 33 (with Lixin Yang)
- ‘Las Instituciones Gubernamentales’, in Gabriel García-Noblejas (ed), China. Pasado y Presente de una Gran Civilización (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2012) 221
- ‘Piercing the Corporate Veil in China: How Did We Get There?’ (2011) 55 Journal of Business Law 413
- ‘Medical Liability Laws in China: The Tale of Two Regimes’ (2011) 19 Tort Law Review 65 (with Lixin Yang)
- ‘Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors’ in Lutz-Christian Wolff (ed), China Outbound Investments (Hong Kong: CCH, 2011) 71
- ‘National Reports: The People’s Republic of China’ in Christopher Hodges, Stefan Vogenauer and Magdalena Tulibacka (eds), The Costs and Funding of Civil Litigation: A Comparative Perspective (Oxford: Hart, 2010) 261 (with Michael Palmer)
- ‘Who Writes Corporate Law Rules? The Making of the ‘Piercing the Corporate Veil Rule’ as a Case Study’ in Guanghua Yu (ed), The Development of the Chinese Legal System: Change and Challenges (London: Routledge, 2010) 159
- ‘The Globalization of Class Actions: China’ (2009) 622 The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 270 (with Michael Palmer)
- ‘Foreign Solutions for Local Problems? The Use of US-Style Fiduciary Duties to Regulate Agreed Takeovers in China’ (2008) 6 Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies 407
- ‘In Search of an Effective Monitoring Board Model: Board Reforms and the Political Economy of Corporate Law in China’ (2006) 22 Connecticut Journal of International Law 1
- ‘Institutional Shareholder Activism in China: Law and Practice (Part 1)’ (2006) 17 International Company and Commercial Law Review 251
- ‘Institutional Shareholder Activism in China: Law and Practice (Part 2)’ (2006) 17 International Company and Commercial Law Review 287
- ‘Private Enforcement of Securities Law in China: Daqing Lianyi Co v ZHONG Weida and Others (2004) Heilongjiang High Court’ (2006) 1 Journal of Comparative Law 492
- ‘Transforming Chinese Enterprises: Ideology, Efficiency and Instrumentalism in the Process of Reform’ in John Gillespie and Pip Nicholson (eds), Asian Socialism and Legal Change: The Dynamics of Vietnamese Renewal and Chinese Reform (Canberra: ANU Press & Asia Pacific Press, 2005) 91
- ‘Letter of Credit Fraud: A Legal Perspective’ (2001) 18 Guangdong Social Sciences 113-119
Reports and Submissions
- ‘Recognition and Enforcement of Hong Kong Collective Action Judgments by Chinese Courts’ (2008), invited submission to the Sub-committee on Class Actions of the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission
- ‘Collective and Representative Actions in China’ (2007), National Report to the University of Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and the Stanford Law School joint project on ‘Global Class Actions Exchange’ (http://globalclassaction.stanford.edu/) (with Michael Palmer)