13 Asian Legal Business | February 2025 LIST Chai Jie 柴杰 Tian Yuan Law Firm 天元律师事务所 Chen Wei (David) 陈巍 DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所 Jiang Wenjun (Kelvin) 蒋文俊 JunHe LLP 君合律师事务所 Kong Huanzhi 孔焕志 Llinks Law Offices 通力律师事务所 Lan Tao 兰涛 Han Kun Law Offices 汉坤律师事务所 Lin Wei 林威 P.C.Woo & Zhonglun W.D. LLP 中伦文德胡百全（前海）联营律师事务所 Lu Xuezhong (Felix) 陆学忠 AllBright Law Offices 锦天城律师事务所 Pan Xinggao 潘兴高 Commerce & Finance Law Offices 通商律师事务所 Wang Qing (Alan) 王庆 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 富而德律师事务所 Wang Jihong 王霁虹 Zhong Lun Law Firm 中伦律师事务所 Wu Guohua (Annie) 邬国华 Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm 金诚同达律师事务所 Xu Ping 徐萍 King & Wood Mallesons 金杜律师事务所 Xu Rongyuan (Ronald) 徐荣元 Guantao Law Firm 观韬律师事务所 Yao Jian (Charles) 姚坚 Jingtian & Gongcheng 竞天公诚律师事务所 Zhang He 张合 Tiantai Law Firm 天驰君泰律师事务所 have shared with ALB their insights on supporting Chinese companies’ international expansion through legal expertise. Riding global waves While “going global” may be a recent buzzword, Chinese companies have been conducting international business and investments for many years. Many of today’s leading lawyers in international business began handling overseas expansion cases more than a decade ago, witnessing Chinese companies’ evolution from cautious international newcomers to established global players. China’s WTO accession in the early 2000s marked its formal entry into global economic integration. It was during this period that Ronald Xu, partner at Guantao Law Firm, began specializing in international business law by chance. He notes that China’s economic focus was clearly shifting from purely attracting foreign investment - as seen in the early days of reform and opening up - to a dual approach of both inbound and outbound investment. “Early Chinese overseas ventures were predominantly in asset-heavy industries,” Xu explains. “These included infrastructure projects like power stations, railways, and ports, which drove exports of large-scale equipment. Companies also pursued natural resource acquisitions - oil, gas, and minerals - to better balance domestic and international supply chains and achieve more strategic allocation of resources.” Zhang He, senior partner and Management Committee director at Tiantai Law Firm, reflects on the dramatic shift in his practice: “When I started in 2001, I helped foreign lawyers understand Chinese investment policies, tax laws, labor regulations, and business registration requirements. Two decades later, I’m doing the reverse - traveling globally to assist Chinese clients with similar cross-border business needs.” In 2008, Zhang helped a Chinese biopharmaceutical company expand into international vaccine markets through technology exports. This pivotal project, involving complex design, negotiation, and implementation phases, exposed him to the intricacies of cross-border regulations and licensing requirements. This experience led him to focus on supporting pharmaceutical companies’ international expansion, pioneering legal services for technology and product exports in this sector. Charles Yao, senior partner at Jingtian & Gongcheng, began specializing in cross-border M&A and outbound investment following his U.S. legal studies in 2008. “This coincided with the first wave of Chinese outbound investment following the global Cover Story
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