On 7 November 2023, China officially became a contracting state to the Apostille Convention, simplifying the process of validating foreign documents for use in the country. The accession to the Apostille Convention offers the opportunity to circumvent the costly and time-consuming legalization process by obtaining an apostille certificate from authorized authorities in the foreign country. The new system is expected to facilitate foreign trade, investments, and IP protection efforts, benefiting both foreign companies operating in China and Chinese entities seeking to use documents in member states of the Apostille Convention.

To know more about the Apostille Convention and foreign document recognition, please read our latest article prepared by our Managing Partner, Alan Chiu, our Partner, Valerie Suen, and our Trainee Solicitor, Alison Choy.