41 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – AUGUST 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM BROUGHT TO YOU BY TIANTAI LAW FIRM A conversation with Zhang He What is Tiantai Law Firm’s international strategy, and why start with Indonesia? Tiantai Law Firm identified its “Going Global” goals and tasks in 2023, and officially launched the initiative in mid-2024. Our international strategy is closely aligned with client needs. Before 2020, we observed that Chinese companies’ global supply chains were increasingly shifting towards ASEAN and Latin America. From 2023, Chinese companies accelerated their pace and expanded the scope of their international operations. This included ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, which have high economic connectivity with China. Indonesia, in particular, stands out. On one hand, since around 2014, Chinese companies have been importing raw materials such as oil, coal, and steel from Indonesia. On the other hand, due to Indonesia’s large population and strong consumer power, it has gradually become an important destination for Chinese product exports. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, many pharmaceutical, vaccine, and medical supply companies we serve provided substantial supplies to Indonesia. This led us to start offering legal services related to Indonesian product export assessments, product localization, and local product approval policy consultations. These factors made Indonesia the first ASEAN country we visited in this initiative. Partnering with ALB, we launched our “Going Global” plan by hosting the Indonesia Investment Forum, marking the first step in Tiantai Law Firm’s international expansion. What legal services does Tiantai Law Firm offer to Chinese companies going overseas? In line with China’s economic development milestones and the post-pandemic era, an increasing number of Chinese companies are seeking to expand internationally. These companies are becoming increasingly aware that adapting to the local legal environment is a priority when entering new markets, which is even a prerequisite for successfully establishing and developing overseas operations. Therefore, lawyers need to focus on safeguarding the overall interests of Chinese enterprises abroad. On one hand, Chinese lawyers must compreenergy, and new energy vehicles to explore new service opportunities. Regarding team building, we plan to deploy some of Tiantai’s domestic lawyers with expertise in key practice areas and send a number of management members. We will also recruit and form local service teams. We are exploring a new talent model: since the second half of 2023, Tiantai has established connections with the Law Schools of Southwest University of Political Science & Law and Southwest Minzu University. We are reaching out to and selecting ASEAN and Latin American students studying at Chinese universities. These young talents, familiar with both their home country and Chinese cultures, are expected to play a crucial role in our branches in their respective countries after completing their studies. They will act as cultural bridges, providing strong support for Chinese enterprises in their localized business activities. How does going global fit into Tiantai Law Firm’s future? 2024 marks Tiantai’s 30th anniversary. As a national, comprehensive law firm, our anniversary coincides with the historical trend of Chinese enterprises “going global.” Therefore, providing better overseas services to Chinese enterprises will inevitably become a crucial step in our future development. Moreover, we aim to support Chinese enterprises in their international ventures through services such as document drafting, negotiations, and communication with local stakeholders, playing a protective role from a broader perspective. Specifically, after over 30 years of development, Chinese enterprises have established high industry standards and regulatory requirements across various sectors. While assisting Chinese products in entering global markets, we also aspire to help the “China Standards” go global. By bridging regulatory differences among countries and fostering consensus, we aim to further reduce the institutional barriers faced by Chinese enterprises in their international endeavors. Thirty years is a significant period for partnership law firms in China, but for many international firms, it’s just the beginning. During our ASEAN trip, we visited several law firms with histories of seventy to eighty years, and even some over a century old. Their experiences are particularly valuable for us to learn from. hensively assist enterprises in adapting to new market environments. This includes services such as assessing foreign legal environments, protecting intellectual property rights, designing transaction and corporate structures, evaluating local environmental protection requirements, and controlling labor employment risks. On the other hand, Chinese lawyers can also facilitate proactive communication and coordination between enterprises and local government regulatory authorities and industry organizations. What are Tiantai Law Firm’s plans for global expansion and talent development? Tiantai’s strategy is to be “well-prepared and act according to circumstances,” allowing for flexible adjustments to our overseas branch layouts based on the expansion of Chinese enterprises abroad. Currently, we are focusing on two key regions: ASEAN and Latin America. We are considering establishing 1-2 branches in each region and building suitable local service teams based on the industrial layout of Chinese enterprises. For example, we focus on the energy industry in Indonesia, the electromechanical industry in Vietnam, and Chinese pharmaceutical and medical service enterprises in Malaysia and Thailand. Additionally, in 2020, we paid visits to several Latin American countries, including Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador. We aim to leverage the extensive cooperation between China and Latin America in areas such as agricultural products, veterinary medicines, clean Zhang He Director of the Management Committee E: zhanghe@tiantailaw.com Tiantai Law Firm F6/A, North Star Huibin Plaza, No.8 Beichen East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China W: www.tiantailaw.com
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