China’s wealthy used grey zones to avoid taxes. Have new rules painted them into a corner?

For Sarah Wang, a Shanghai-based tax lawyer who specialises in structuring offshore trusts, most of her high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth clients have hit pause on their arrangements. “Some clients were midway through establishing offshore trusts, but now they have put their plans on hold following the new regulatory developments,” she said. “Others weighing up similar structures are also shelving their plans for the time being.” The “new developments” in question were rules unveiled