Located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is the most densely populated area with the highest concentration of industries and the most cities in west China. Chengdu is the capital city of the Sichuan province – it is located alongside the ‘Belt and Road’ and is the largest centre of economic activity in southwest China; it facilitates a large volume of financial transactions in Western China; and is one of the country’s largest technological hubs. The city has four industrial zones and nearly 30 Fortune 500 companies present, and it is regarded as the country’s western centre of logistics, commerce, finance, and science as well as a hub for transportation and communication. Neighbouring city Chongqing is one of the four municipalities under the direct administration of the central government of the PRC; this results in increased support from the central government and other benefits including tariff-free zones and increased autonomy in policymaking. The city’s GDP reached nearly RMB2.78tn in 2021, an increase of 8.3% from the previous year, and the city’s IT industry continues to attract major electronics and telecoms companies.As a major economic hub, law firms in the city advise on a broad range of financing, cross-border M&A, restructuring and insolvency, and investment, as well as dispute resolution which is a growing area for most firms that are active in the city following the establishment of the Supreme People’s Court’s 5th Circuit Court in Chongqing in 2016. The two cities field a balanced mix of Beijing- and Shanghai-headquartered law firms as well as local firms; the majority of those local firms have extensive geographic coverage across many provinces in western China including Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi.

Chongqing-based SGLA Law Firm (previously known as Chongqing Solton & Partners) advises on commercial, corporate and M&A, IP, restructuring and insolvency, employment and commercial disputes for a mix of local SOEs, government departments, and private companies. The team is jointly led by Xiaoli Zou who handles international trade, financing, and restructuring mandates, Lifeng Han who excels in M&A, insolvency, and construction disputes, and Liang Li who is regularly instructed in private equity, investment funds and M&A transactions. The team is also particularly active in handling major PPP projects where Siyan Jin and Zhimin Wang are the key contacts.

Zhong Lun Law Firm‘s client roster includes a large number of regional clients drawn from the financial services, real estate, TMT and education sectors. With a solid presence in both Chengdu and Chongqing, the team is a popular choice for major capital markets and M&A transactions as well as for major projects in the energy sector. Corporate and capital markets specialists Li Xiong and Bin Fan lead the team from their Chongqing and Chengdu offices, respectively. Yunfan He counts domestic and foreign-listed companies as his main clients which he advises on M&A and restructuring matters, Jie Ma excels in commercial disputes, Hongchuan Luo handles anti-corruption and compliance matters.

With offices in Chongqing, Chengdu, Guiyang, Hechuan, Rongchang and Dazu, Chongqing Baijus Law Firm is well placed to handle major projects under the Belt and Road initiatives, as well as financings, capital markets and general corporate and commercial matters. Data compliance is an area that the team continues to build; Xiaolei Li and Yuzhou Tang are key names to note. The sizeable team is led by founding partner Yu Sun and is supported by Hongbo Liu, Zeyan Yang and Yonghua Zhang, all of whom handle M&A transactions and contentious matters. Linzhi Shan is a key name for corporate matters.

DeHeng Law Offices has a solid corporate offering, regularly advising on bankruptcy and restructuring, tax, capital markets, employment, real estate and infrastructure projects as well as handling a broad range of contentious matters. Bin He is a key name to note for real estate and construction and financing transactions; Hao Chen specialises in private equity and venture capital investment, bankruptcy liquidation and reorganisation; financial department head Xiaoping Chen handles bond issuance, M&A mandates and commercial litigation; and Chaoxing Ma is noted for civil and commercial litigation.

Grandall Law Firm has a robust capital markets practice in which it is regularly instructed on IPO and pre-IPO financing mandates. It also handles a broad mix of real estate and construction projects, financing, and litigation matters, as well as advising on government affairs and state-owned asset management. With offices in both Chengdu and Chongqing and a team of over 40 partners, it counts a number of regional SOEs and major regional companies among its main clients. In Chengdu, Shiliang Li and Bo Shi handle commercial, corporate and construction projects, and Xiaojin Liu is noted for bankruptcy and liquidation, capital markets and compliance matters. Chongqing office managing partner Dong Li and Shangze Li are the names to note for capital markets and disputes. Among its recent caseload, it advised Chengdu Industry Investment Group on its issuance of RMB1bn medium-term notes and represented a gas company in a co-ownership dispute against two chemical enterprises.

Jincheng Tongda & Neal‘s Chengdu office handles M&A, capital markets, compliance, bankruptcy and reorganisation, IP and commercial disputes, acting for a large number of major SOEs, listed companies, private companies, financial institutions and government agencies. Recent work includes loan contract and construction disputes, acquisitions in the real estate space, bankruptcy reorganisation, and multibillion-RMB debt restructuring mandates. Practice head Hongmin Zhou recently advised Sichuan New Energy Power on the issuance of shares to purchase assets, the raising of funds and major asset restructuring. Lu Li who handles data compliance and IP matters, and Bo Gu are also noted. The team welcomed Huanyu Wang from Zhong Lun Law Firm and Ruxueyu Luo from Grandall Law Firm; the duo focus on capital markets and cross-border investment, respectively. Mingyu Fang is another name to note for M&A, restructuring, private equity and venture capital transactions.

K&H Law Firm handles a broad range of commercial disputes including those in the financial, construction, and intellectual property areas. Guoyue Hou leads the team from its Chongqing office and the group is regularly instructed on corporate and commercial, restructuring and insolvency, IP, and compliance matters. Hongtao He and Xiaofei Hu are noted for commercial disputes and corporate listing investment and financing transactions, respectively. The firm also has offices in Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, and Haikou.

Sichuan Mingju Law Firm‘s large team, which is led by the well-regarded Zongqi Wang, handles the full gamut of transactions and commercial disputes. The team particularly excels in the real estate and financial services sector, and its client roster includes SOEs, government agencies, and regional and national private companies. Founding partner Kaikuo Liang is recommended for bankruptcy reorganisation and contentious matters; Hongbin Li has a notable track record in the real estate and energy sectors; Qiao Luo and Yong Yang handle M&A and financing matters.

W&H Law Firm was established in 2014, and handles financing, M&A and capital markets matters, compliance, bankruptcy and liquidation, and commercial litigation. The team has recently been kept busy handling capital markets work with work in this area including advising Dongfang Electric Group on the issuance of RMB10bn medium-term notes and short-term financing bonds and assisting Union Asset with the issuance of the Union-Zhengzhou Dahe road infrastructure debt investment plan. Guopeng Li excels in M&A, state-owned asset management and restructuring mandates, Qiang Zhang handles capital markets, M&A transactions, and contentious matters. Li and Zhang jointly lead the practice from its Chengdu office, with the firm also having a presence in Chongqing. Dong Wei focuses on financing, capital markets, non-performing asset disposals, compliance and bankruptcy matters.