Publication
The consolidated plan of inspections of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs for 2020.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation and the Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office published a consolidated plan of inspections of...
Arbitration process seminar with participation of the Secretary general of the Hong Kong international arbitration center (HKIAC) Sara Grimmer.
Hinkels` Managing Partner Mikhail Kuzmichev and Counselor of Litigation Practice, Attorney Mikhail Varjas attended an arbitration seminar with the...
A little about the taxation of "expats".
Mediation in the formalization of relationships: when the initiator is a Chinese counterparty. How to maintain the partnership and take into account the cultural context. Key recommendations.
On August 6, 2026, at the conference “Mediation as a New Culture of Dispute Resolution” at MSAL (Moscow State Law Academy), Hinkels managing partner Mikhail Kuzmichev outlined approaches to documenting transactions with partners from the China.
The expert noted: formalization for the Chinese side is often an internal necessity (compliance, hierarchy), rather than a sign of distrust. The goal in interaction is to maintain a partnership format and avoid perceiving documents as a control tool.
Key cultural factors:
- Saving face. Direct complaints should be avoided; it is better to formulate controversial issues as general risks.
- The guanxi system. The priority is long‑term relationships; it is important to demonstrate a willingness to engage in sustainable cooperation.
- Indirect communication. A pause in the response is often a consequence of multi‑level coordination, not a sign of unwillingness to reach an agreement.
Practical recommendations:
Start not with draft contracts, but with a discussion of goals and risks;
use intermediate formats for documentation (intent protocols, roadmaps, risk matrices);
coordinate the transaction in stages — by separate blocks;
position the documents as a mechanism for protecting the interests of both parties.
At the same time, the negotiation specialist does not replace the lawyer: their task is to create conditions for the adoption and implementation of legally sound decisions.
According to M. A. Kuzmichev, success in Russian‑Chinese projects is achieved through a combination of legal precision and cultural adaptability — this reduces the risks of escalation and ensures the enforceability of agreements.