I've stayed out of this till now; but feel I have to add something here.
I worked for a client in Shanghai to clear him of Fraud allegations (just to get it out of the way; he was beyond clearly innocent - competitors had planted "evidence" and reported him). One of the most memorable things he said (and I feel this sums up Chinese hierarchy to a tee) was:
The legal system here is absolutely great. It's when they decide not to use it that things get dicey
Apologies if my previous post implied China law and justice was better than the U.S. The two systems aren't easily compared. I was attempting to provide a counterbalance to my parent post's hyperbola. [ADDED]: I should not have said the China system is more fair and congenial than the U.S. What I should have said is I was disarmed by how fair it was compared to what I was prepared to experience based on my prejudice.
As to what your client went through...all I can say is there are bad people everywhere. Rule #1 for me in China is "Don't do business with shady people or in market segments dominated by shady people". I think you can apply this rule anywhere.
Not in quite the same way. Because all you need to do is compete with a local firm too well, or piss off the wrong person, or cause problems by not working in the accepted way.
There's the crucial difference I feel.
(though on the other hand it's not as bad a picture as some people like to paint. You just have to be sensible and keep your head down)
I worked for a client in Shanghai to clear him of Fraud allegations (just to get it out of the way; he was beyond clearly innocent - competitors had planted "evidence" and reported him). One of the most memorable things he said (and I feel this sums up Chinese hierarchy to a tee) was:
The legal system here is absolutely great. It's when they decide not to use it that things get dicey