Event Report

Legal 500’s GC Summit China: Beijing 2026 brought together senior in-house lawyers and law firms to discuss issues affecting companies operating across China and internationally. The agenda focused on outbound investment, dispute management, regulatory developments and international trade, with speakers sharing practical perspectives on how legal teams are supporting business growth while managing risk.

The first session, on cross-border energy project development and financing, held in association with Fangda Partners, examined the legal and financing considerations surrounding international energy and infrastructure projects involving Chinese stakeholders. Shepard Liu and Monica Sun of Fangda Partners were joined by Zhulei Guo of Industrial Bank, Shenying Peng of PowerChina International, Christopher Smith of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Quan Zhang of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation. The discussion focused on evolving financing structures, sanctions and geopolitical considerations, and the importance of early-stage risk allocation. Speakers also highlighted lender expectations and the challenges of navigating multi-jurisdictional approvals for large-scale projects.

The following session, in association with Lineal, explored the role of AI in cross-border litigation and investigations. Jennifer Qian and Jay Chong of Lineal joined Bryan Fu of Tencent Research Institute, Chen Xianglin of Han Kun Law Offices and Ning Ning of Gibson Dunn to discuss how organisations are managing increasingly complex data environments. The conversation examined data privacy considerations, cross-border data transfer challenges and how AI-enabled eDiscovery tools are helping legal teams manage large volumes of information more efficiently.

Cross-border litigation was the focus of the next presentation, delivered by Ray Liu of Dorsey & Whitney. Liu discussed practical considerations for in-house counsel managing disputes involving China, including early risk assessment, forum selection and co-ordinating parallel proceedings. The session also addressed challenges in evidence gathering and enforcement, with an emphasis on maintaining control over cost, timing and legal risk.

In a session held in association with Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, speakers examined key legal issues shaping business activity in China in 2025. LI Zhengming, HU Gaochong, ZHAO Bingling and LIU Xiaoqin discussed developments in antitrust and competition, mergers and acquisitions, labour and employment, and commercial arbitration. Drawing on recent cases, the panel highlighted how regulatory scrutiny and operational considerations are affecting businesses operating in the Chinese market.

The discussion then turned to construction engineering disputes in a session held in association with W&H Law Firm. Li Jun examined three core areas of controversy: contract validity, rights protection for actual constructors and price settlement. The session also addressed developments in the Second Judicial Interpretation of Construction Engineering, including changes to contract assessment and price adjustment mechanisms.

Trends in international trade and investment were explored in a session held in association with Jincheng Tongda & Neal. Carol Xing, Xin Fu and Vera Zuo were joined by Henry Li of Goldwind and Baoqiang Zheng of HKA to discuss regulatory complexity, dispute trends and risk management strategies. Speakers emphasised the importance of proactive compliance frameworks and co-ordinated legal strategies as Chinese enterprises expand internationally.

The final session, held in association with Topcom China Law Offices, examined cross-border operational challenges through the ‘GAP’ framework, covering legal differences, cultural considerations and cross-border positioning. James Jiang was joined by Randolph Hsu of Ondine

Capital, Linping Han of Bloomage Biotech and Ya-Chiao Chang of Spencer Fane. The discussion focused on practical examples of cross-border collaboration and the role of legal advisers in bridging international business and regulatory differences.

We thank all sponsors and speakers for their contributions to the summit and look forward to welcoming participants at future Legal 500 GC Summit events.