Why corporate disputes in China still revolve around rubber stamps

CHINA IS IN the vanguard of new technology, from facial recognition to 5G networks. Many Chinese firms, though, rely on something from an earlier age: a hard, usually rubber chop with a firm’s name engraved on it, to be dipped in crimson ink and stamped on important documents. Chopping is seen as more authoritative than a mere signature. The 2,000-year-old tradition may seem quaint. But in China, who controls the chop controls the company.