China CEO Council Session Report: Looking Beyond the Regulatory Trees to Assess the Regulatory Forest

Understanding the evolving regulatory environment in today’s China is of utmost importance to MNCs. Despite the generally tightening conditions and the concerning impacts of trade tensions on market access and operating conditions, we assert that regulatory space and new market opportunities can still be successfully created by aligning with the goals of China’s leadership and engendering the support of local level gatekeepers who are keen to show progress against these goals. This recent session of the China CEO Council examined current regulatory behavior and assessed the old and new tactics available to MNCs to create “regulatory space.” In some ways, we argue, the conditions are ripe for breakthrough gains in positioning and engagement.