Chinese Communism with North Korean Characteristics and "ZERO-China"

Home | China Law Blog | Chinese Communism with North Korean Characteristics and “ZERO-China” For years I've been saying that China was trending more towards North Korea than Germany or Japan. I would base this "prediction" on China's increasing belligerence towards other countries, its increasing government control over its economy, its increasing control over its own citizens, and Xi Jinping's increasing megalomania. China's just completed Party Congress has borne all of these things out. For in-depth analysis of China's party Congress I suggest you read the following: Xi Jinping Expands His Power, Elevating Loyalists, Forcing Out Moderates, The New York Times Reaction to China's 20th Communist Party Congress, Reuters China’s Xi Expands Powers, Promotes Allies, The Diplomat What the Hell Just Happened to Hu Jintao? Foreign Policy Xi’s Total Control in China Injects More Risk Into Chaotic World, Bloomberg What will all this mean for your business? Among other things, it means the following: Zero-COVID is here to stay. Li Qiang, who oversaw Shanghai's two-month COVID-19 lockdown this year, has been "has been anointed as the second-ranking Politburo Standing Committee member thanks to his loyalty to Xi Jinping". More importantly, China's Zero-COVID policy was constantly extolled at the Congress, to a chorus of nodding heads. For what this will mean for supply chains, I urge you to read what I wrote back in December, as nothing much has changed: Omicron and Supply Chains: Buckle Up. Free enterprise and freedom in China will become increasingly constricted. If your business does not fit in with exactly how the CCP wants China's future to look, you should expect problems. The Chinese government will be focusing more on increasing its control (and on "encouraging" the right sort of behavior from its citizens) than on the economy. This will mean things will get tougher for foreign companies that do business in or with China. In just the last few months I've seen how this can impact even things like how China's export credit agency, Sinosure, treats American and European companies that have their products made in China and I will be writing about this specifically later this week. Companies and countries are going to be scrambling to reduce their dependence on China and China will, in turn, be scrambling to decouple further from the rest of the world. If you think Vietnam is "full" now, just you wait. India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mexico will become the places to go for manufacturing. Sadly, Taiwan has become riskier. THE buzzword for the next 5-10 years will be "zero-China." See Japanese companies explore how to go 'zero-China' amid tensions. "Zero-China" is mostly being used to describe companies seeking to re-jigger their supply chains to completely exclude China, but I think it will eventually come to mean any effort to be rid of China. What are you seeing out there? Check Out Our China Law Services Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn E-mail Comment Dan Harris Dan Harris is a founding member of Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm where he mostly represents companies doing business in emerging market countries. Most of his time is spent helping American and European companies navigate foreign countries by working with the international lawyers at his firm in setting up companies overseas (WFOEs, Subsidiaries, Rep Offices and Joint Ventures), drafting international contracts, protecting IP, and overseeing M&A transactions. In addition, Dan writes and speaks extensively on international law, with a focus on protecting foreign businesses in their overseas operations. He is also a prolific and widely-followed blogger, writing as the co-author of the award-winning China Law Blog. Harris Sliwoski Attorney Read more posts [email protected] Read More China Business Related Posts September 15, 2026 Your AI-Drafted China Contract Says It Needs a Lawyer. 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