Shenzhen-headquartered China Commercial Law Firm has opened offices in Vientiane in Laos, Jakarta in Indonesia and Hotan in Xinjiang. The Laos and Indonesia offices are already operational, while the Hotan office is expected to officially open on 20 October, further expanding the firm’s footprint in Southeast Asia and northwest China.
Beyond Hotan, China Commercial plans to establish more offices in northwest China.
Gao Shu, chief partner of the firm, told China Business Law Journal that the expansion was “an active response to the Belt and Road Initiative, particularly an attempt to put into practice the integrated development of the ‘Belt’ area and the ‘Road’ area in the new era. Co-ordinated development of legal services between the north and south should be very helpful in building a new model of internationalisation.
“China Commercial will continue to focus on and invest in building a legal services system closely linked to the Belt and Road Initiative and emerging industries. We will also further deepen our existing footprint and seek to achieve more tangible results in integrating legal and business services and in foreign-related legal practice.”
The firm now has 81 offices worldwide, including 22 overseas. In Southeast Asia, it has established offices in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Yangon and Hanoi. In northwest China, it also has offices in Xi’an and Lanzhou, as well as Urumqi, Yining, Khorgos, Xinyuan and Kashgar in Xinjiang.
The Laos branch, formally named Huasheng-Asean Law Office, is jointly headed by Tang Jinsong, head of the Hanoi office and a senior partner, Liu Xinyuan, head of the Liuzhou office and Cheng Ming, executive director of the Laos office.
Tang told China Business Law Journal that the Laos office would “provide professional one-stop legal services for Chinese companies expanding into Laos and Asean”.
“The office has a corporate-style middle-office service team comprising lawyers dispatched to Laos from the Liuzhou office and local Lao lawyers,” said Tang. “It works closely with middle-office service teams in Vietnam and other Asean countries, all other lawyers handling foreign-related matters across the China Commercial network and the firm’s other offices.”
The Laos office focuses on full-cycle legal services for investment and operations involving mining, agriculture and forestry, construction, energy, artificial intelligence (AI) and cross-border trade in Laos, as well as cross-border dispute resolution and criminal legal services.
The Indonesia office is headed by partner Deng Mingyue, whose practice covers overseas corporate compliance, cross-border data compliance and cross-border dispute resolution. The office’s founding partner Pan Chenxing has expertise in Chinese, Thai and Indonesian law, and extensive experience in capital markets and Southeast Asian investment. Both were previously based in Shenzhen.
The office advises on corporate establishment and market access, licensing, employment and data compliance, IP protection, cross-border investment and M&A and civil and commercial dispute resolution. It serves sectors including new energy, AI computing power, manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce and telecommunications technology, with clients spanning Chinese companies expanding overseas, multinational groups and listed companies.
Deng said in a press release: “The Indonesian market has significant potential, with large numbers of Chinese companies investing and establishing operations there.”
The Indonesia office would “work to build a legal services system that takes into account Chinese clients’ commercial objectives, international compliance standards and Indonesian regulatory requirements”, Deng said.
The Hotan office is headed by Zhou Man, who advises on bankruptcy liquidation and restructuring, voluntary corporate liquidation and corporate M&A and restructuring. She was previously based in Urumqi.
The office’s practice includes border trade, cross-border investment, energy and mining co-operation, foreign-related compliance and risk management, and cross-border dispute resolution, supporting Chinese companies expanding westwards and developing their cross-border operations.
On its foreign-related practice, China Commercial said in a press release: “The Hotan office will serve as a frontline hub connecting China with Central Asia. It will work closely with China Commercial’s Central Asia legal service centre and Almaty office, fully integrating the firm’s overseas resources and drawing on Xinjiang’s position as a border gateway to establish a two-way channel providing local support in southern Xinjiang and cross-border legal support in Central Asia.”
