China

Commerce & Finance Law Offices is active in key areas of dispute resolution, especially commercial litigation. The dispute resolution team comprises nearly 100 lawyers with 20 partners. Hongji Li heads the dispute resolution team and focuses on complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. Other key names in the team include Jialu Wang and Qiang Cui. 

The firm's real estate litigation practice has recently handled several high-stakes disputes spanning the full complexity of China's property sector. In the most prominent, the firm represents Jiangsu Sugang Group as defendant in what is widely regarded as the largest civil litigation case by claim value in PRC history, a Rmb10.044 billion infringement action before the Jiangsu High People's Court, in which the firm successfully drove a government-led remediation process that reduced the client's total exposure to Rmb300 million and positioned it for full exemption from liability. In a separate matter concluded in October 2024, the firm represented Harvest Capital and its subsidiary Beijing Jiuju Changxin in unwinding a regulatory challenge to a "Trust + Lease" structure for a collective leasing housing project in Beijing's Shijingshan District, negotiating the full dismantlement of the transaction and refund of all tenant funds within the government's mandated timeline, without any party bearing compensation liability, thereby eliminating significant administrative and civil risk for the client. In a third matter also concluded in October 2024, the firm successfully defended Hangzhou Rongxiaoyucheng in a Rmb450 million claim brought by a joint venture partner seeking capital contributions and contractual penalties, persuading the courts at both the first and second instance levels that a fundamental breakdown in the cooperation required dissolution and liquidation before any repayment obligations could arise, shielding the client from approximately Rmb400 million in potential losses. 

The firm's financial services and regulatory practice has recently advised on a series of consequential matters at the intersection of capital markets, data governance, and securities litigation. In the data compliance space, the firm provided end-to-end IPO data compliance services for Guangzhou Innogen Pharmaceutical Group ahead of its Hong Kong listing, navigating China's layered data regulatory framework, including the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and Human Genetic Resources Regulations, to deliver a bespoke data classification system, cross-border transfer standard contracts, and prospectus disclosure recommendations, establishing a practical compliance paradigm for the biopharmaceutical sector. In a parallel matter, the firm advised WeRide, a leading autonomous driving technology company, on comprehensive data compliance and overseas listing readiness, designing a tailored compliance framework that addressed the rapidly evolving regulatory environment for automotive data and met the standards required for the company's successful public listing. On the litigation front, the firm represents Zhongtai Securities Co as defendant in the first securities representative lawsuit accepted by the Beijing Financial Court, a Rmb6.3 billion claim brought by investors in connection with LeEco's decade-long financial fraud and subsequent delisting. The firm secured a complete first-instance victory, with Zhongtai Securities bearing no liability, in a case recognized as one of China's top ten commercial law events of 2023 and expected to have lasting influence on the judicial treatment of securities false statement cases across the A-share market. 

Key clients include Shanghai Lupu Investment Management Group, Shanghai Luxiang Fund Sale Co and Shenzhen Runwu Venture Capital Co. 

The firm has significantly expanded its dispute resolution and related practices with the hire of eighteen new partners over the past twelve months. The largest cohort arrives from Tiance Law Firm (Shenzhen), comprising Haobo Zeng, Yating He, Xin Qi, Jian Kang, and Haizhou Yang. Two further partners join from Jincheng Tongda & Neal, Yonggao Wu and Chunlei Xian, while Lingling Zhong joins from Shanghai Jinmao Kaide (Beijing), Xue Han from Heju Law Firm, Chi Ho Kwan from Jingtian & Gongcheng, and Hua Wu from Sichuan Jufan Law Firm. The firm has also welcomed Jun Liao, Fengjie Shi, Xiaoping Li, Fangwei Yu, Xin Chen, Yipin Zhang, and Wenjia Zhou, collectively reinforcing its capabilities across civil and commercial litigation, criminal law, intellectual property, international arbitration, and real estate disputes. 

Client feedback 

“Commerce & Finance Law Offices stands out in many aspects, such as the analysis and design of recovery plans, and the research and resolution of complex legal issues. The firm has previously assisted us in resolving a debt default case involving a major central enterprise, achieving favourable results, and possesses rich experience in handling significant cases." – Commercial and transactions 

Qiang Cui 

“Lawyer Cui Qiang's personal capabilities and his ability to coordinate resources across the law firm are truly impressive. As our legal representative, he has always devoted himself wholeheartedly to the cases he handles. Not only does he work with extremely high efficiency, but he has also secured favourable outcomes in all cases. When dealing with cases with special requirements, he can also coordinate resources from the entire firm to achieve the goals of serving us. He is an excellent cooperative partner of ours.”