Dr. Leslie Xu — Partner, Head of Chang Tsi & Partners' Shanghai Office, and Director of the Strategic Research Institute — was recently invited to speak at "Protecting Your Know-How: Practical Strategies for SMEs," a seminar co-hosted by the European Chamber and the China IP SME Helpdesk, the EU-funded public-service program supporting European SMEs on IP matters in China. As a Helpdesk external expert, Dr. Xu delivered the keynote and joined the panel discussion, exchanging views with European business representatives on the development of the trade secret protection regime and its practical application. Held in person in Shanghai with a simultaneous livestream, the seminar drew dozens of SME representatives.

The seminar examined how companies can manage trade secret risks amid frequent talent mobility, accelerating technological change, and increasingly complex cross-border operations — from the confidentiality conflicts that arise when employees leave, to the compliant handling of sensitive technical and commercial information, to the remedies available once a secret has been leaked.

In his keynote, Dr. Xu examined how trade secret protection is evolving in the digital economy. Data, algorithms, and digital commercial information are now among a company's core competitive assets, extending protection well beyond traditional drawings, formulas, and technical materials into more complex digital information management. As cross-border operations and data flows complicate the application of law, internal management and compliance have grown as important as after-the-fact enforcement — the value of prevention now rivals that of remedy. China's new Provisions on the Protection of Trade Secrets, effective 1 June 2026, reflect this shift, bringing data, algorithms, computer programs, and code within the scope of technical information and strengthening administrative enforcement.

Turning to practice, Dr. Xu noted that for EU SMEs in China, trade secret risks tend to cluster around joint ventures and collaborative R&D, OEM and supply-chain cooperation, departing key employees, and partner breaches. His core message: the case is often won before the dispute begins — whether a company prevails usually turns on the confidentiality measures it put in place and the evidence it preserved before any dispute arose, far more than on the remedy it pursues afterward. He outlined a range of actionable steps — from tailored confidentiality agreements and exit and access controls to evidence preservation — and walked through the choice among administrative, civil, and criminal remedies, drawing on judicial practice to explain the rules of evidence, the allocation of the burden of proof, and the coordination between administrative enforcement and judicial protection.

In the panel discussion that followed, Dr. Xu served as the legal expert alongside EU SME executives, working through the specific, on-the-ground issues they had encountered operating in China and offering both legal analysis and practical experience — to positive feedback from attendees.

Dr. Xu also introduced the Chang Tsi Strategic Research Institute, the firm's dedicated research and strategy platform. Spanning patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, and artificial intelligence, the Institute combines institutional research, industry-trend analysis, and strategic design, tracking the evolution of IP regimes and judicial practice in China. By bridging theoretical insight and practical application and translating its research into actionable solutions and decision support, it helps clients navigate a complex and shifting legal and market environment.

Dr. Xu's participation reflects both Chang Tsi's sustained commitment and depth in trade secret protection and its active role in China's regulatory evolution and the wider dialogue on international rules. As the digital economy advances and the legal framework continues to develop, Chang Tsi will continue to draw on its research and practical experience to provide multinationals and SMEs with systematic, forward-looking, and internationally aligned IP solutions.