Event Highlights

Amid the rapidly evolving landscape of the new economy, corporate operations and governance face unprecedented challenges and opportunities. To enable businesses to accurately decipher market dynamics and formulate effective strategic responses, Zhonglun W&D Law Firm and Wolters Kluwer jointly hosted the “High-End Forum on Corporate Governance and Legal Practice in the New Economy”, which concluded successfully in Beijing on June 26, 2025.

The forum brought together numerous authoritative legal experts and seasoned corporate legal professionals to engage in in-depth discussions on pressing issues in corporate governance and legal practice, offering forward-thinking insights and practical solutions for business development.

More than 300 legal practitioners and corporate executives from various industries across the country gathered to explore cutting-edge issues in corporate governance and practice.

The forum was co-chaired by Gaochong Hu, Executive Committee Member and Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, and Bingling Zhao, Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm.

Jiang Li, Deputy General Manager of Wolters Kluwer’s China Legal & Tax Business, delivered the opening remarks. He noted that in the context of deepening digitalization, intelligentization, and globalization, the forum had meticulously curated forward-looking topics addressing key challenges in corporate governance and legal practice, providing a vital platform for industry exchange. Mr. Li also highlighted Wolters Kluwer’s innovative strides, introducing the “Wei AI+” series—an AI-driven suite equipped with functions such as case retrieval and foreign legal research—which has substantially improved efficiency and accuracy in the legal field.

Mr. Li emphasized that the long-term collaboration with Zhonglun W&D Law Firm exemplifies Wolters Kluwer’s commitment to “focusing on customer success”. The two parties will continue to deepen cooperation in professional content creation and practical guidance development. He concluded by wishing the forum a complete success.

Yuqin Xia, Director and Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, extended a warm welcome to the attending scholars, corporate representatives, and partners. As a full-service law firm, Zhonglun W&D Law Firm has established a global network with 26 offices across mainland China and branches in Hong Kong, London, New York, and beyond, supported by over 2,600 professionals. In 2024, the Beijing headquarters relocated to China Central Place, marking the beginning of a new “2.0 Era” in its development.

He stressed that the mission of legal professionals goes beyond dispute resolution—it also involves leveraging regulatory wisdom to help businesses anticipate risks and seize opportunities. In recent years, Zhonglun W&D Law Firm has focused on building integrated capabilities in “legal strategy + business logic”. The collaboration with Wolters Kluwer aims to create a platform for professional exchange and drive industry innovation. With the technological transformation and industrial restructuring, he called on legal professionals to uphold both justice and the advancement of commercial civilization. He also expressed hope that the forum would serve as a bridge connecting professional expertise with business practice, ensuring that legal frameworks provide a solid foundation for innovation.

Keynote Speech

Lawyer Yuqin Xia, Director and Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, delivered an in-depth presentation on the latest trends and strategies in non-performing asset (NPA) disposal. Lawyer Xia noted that as the NPA market continues to expand, the industry faces the challenge of transitioning from traditional disposal models to structured investments. The current NPA market is characterized by diversified asset types, a broader range of participants, extended industrial chains, and active cross-border transactions.

Lawyer Xia emphasized that the NPA disposal 3.0 era should prioritize both risk control and innovation. Through innovative approaches such as mergers and acquisitions, debt-to-equity swaps, and asset-backed securitization—combined with thorough due diligence, agreement management, specialized issue analysis, and general legal risk control—a balance can be achieved between risk isolation and value extraction.

Lawyer Xia’s insights provided fresh perspectives and direction for the NPA disposal industry, supporting its steady progress in a complex and ever-changing market environment.

Lawyer Min Li, Executive Committee Director and Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, provided a detailed analysis of the legal practices and innovations in Data Center Asset-Backed Securities (ABS). Lawyer Li pointed out that with the acceleration of digital transformation, data centers, as critical infrastructure, are experiencing growing financing demands.

During the session, Lawyer Li delved into the legal framework, representative cases, and key legal issues of Data Center Asset-Backed Securities, including compliance reviews, underlying asset transfers, and flat-structure arrangements with flexible allocations. He highlighted that through meticulous legal design and innovation, this model can effectively mitigate risks and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders. Lawyer Li’s presentation offered new financing perspectives for the data center industry, demonstrating the vital role of legal practice in driving innovation and contributing to the sector’s healthy development.

The newly amended Company Law provides more efficient and convenient approaches for companies to legally exit the market. Lawyer Peifeng Liu, Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, elaborated on the value and significance of lawful market exits, the changes introduced by the amended Company Law, and the available approaches for market exit. In his presentation, he noted that the revised law introduces simplified and compulsory deregistration procedures, improves corporate liquidation mechanisms, and strengthens both voluntary and compulsory liquidation frameworks.

Lawyer Liu stated that these reforms will effectively reduce the costs associated with market exits and promote a healthier business environment. His insights provided new perspectives on lawful and efficient market exits, offering significant implications for optimizing the market environment and unlocking valuable resources.

Roundtable Discussion

The roundtable discussion in the first half focused on the topic “Challenges and Strategies for Compliance Management of State-Owned Enterprises and Central Enterprises under New Circumstances”, moderated by Chunfen Cao, Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm. Participants included Feng Deng, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Peking University Law School; Xiaoqing Sun, former Senior Expert of Sinopec Group and General Counsel of Sinopec Materials & Equipment Department (China Petrochemical International Co.,Ltd); Xiaolin Qi, General Legal Counsel of BBMG Investment Property Management Group Co., Ltd.; and Xiaoqin Liu, Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm. From the perspectives of corporate legal affairs, legal practice, and academia, they shared insights on key aspects and practical challenges in building compliance systems for state-owned and central enterprises, common dilemmas and solutions in compliance management, pathways to integrate compliance with corporate strategy, and how to leverage collaboration among universities, law firms, and enterprises to advance the professionalization and standardization of compliance management. 

Notably, the experts emphasized the critical balance between compliance management and business growth, as well as the interplay between legal and commercial judgment. This discussion provided theoretically grounded and practically viable solutions for state-owned enterprises navigating compliance management in the new development pattern.

Keynote Speeches

The second half of the forum began with a presentation by Gaochong Hu, Executive Committee Member and Senior Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm. Under the theme “The Principles and Tactics of Safeguarding Corporate Competitive Advantages”, he provided a detailed analysis of offensive and defensive strategies in non-compete breach cases, covering the three forms of non-compete restrictions and challenges in accountability. Additionally, regarding trade secret infringement cases, Lawyer Hu emphasized the three essential attributes of trade secrets and the current trend of strengthened protections, while evaluating the pros and cons of different enforcement approaches.

He also explored strategies and risk control in workforce optimization, advising companies to prioritize legality and reasonableness in employment contract modifications and terminations to avoid legal risks from wrongful dismissals. His insights offered practical legal strategies to help businesses better protect their competitive edge and interests.

Zhengming Li, Executive Committee Member, Senior Partner, and seasoned arbitrator at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, focused on commercial arbitration, dissecting key practical considerations and strategies.

Lawyer Li highlighted that the design of arbitration clauses, the selection of arbitration institutions and arbitrators, as well as the arbitration process and its critical stages, are central to commercial arbitration for enterprises. He shared methods to avoid pitfalls such as flawed “arbitration-or-litigation” clauses, provided model golden clauses and recommendations for enhancing special provisions, emphasized key procedural aspects like evidence submission and countering delay tactics, and analyzed—with practical cases—risks and strategies related to arbitration time limits and jurisdictional challenges, offering businesses a practical guide to commercial arbitration while underscoring the importance of well-designed contract terms and procedural precision to better safeguard their interests in disputes.

Partner Yunfei Xu delved into compliance audits for personal data protection within corporate legal risk control frameworks in the digital age.

Lawyer Xu emphasized that with the growing regulatory emphasis on personal data security, compliance auditing has become a critical means for enterprises to safeguard personal data security and mitigate legal risks. He provided a detailed overview of the types, triggers, roles, and specific procedures involved in compliance audits, underscoring the importance of the “gatekeeper” mechanism and professional institutions. Using practical examples, he analyzed key aspects of compliance audits, including legal basis, protection of personal information rights, automated decision-making, and cross-border data transfers.

Lawyer Xu believes that compliance auditing will evolve from mere formal compliance to substantive compliance, becoming a major tool for regulatory oversight. Enterprises should accelerate the development of compliance management systems and conduct comprehensive audits based on business-line priorities to transform compliance from a cost center into a value creator. This sharing session provided valuable practical guidance on compliance auditing for businesses.

Senior Partner Bingling Zhao delivered an in-depth analysis of compliance blind spots and counterstrategies in today’s hypercompetitive market, pointing to rising risks in sales channel management, marketing, and IP practices.

Lawyer Zhao warned of heightened penalties and executive liabilities under amended Anti-Monopoly Law and Anti-Unfair Competition Laws, citing compliance traps including using non-written agreements to control channel pricing, restricting cross-regional sales, commercial bribery, improper enforcement of rights, and abuse of intellectual property. In response, she proposed concrete strategies such as strengthening internal compliance training, establishing robust compliance management systems, and proactively cooperating with regulatory investigations. She urged companies to shift from a “reactive-punitive” approach to a “preventive-protective” mindset, using compliance management to create business value.

Lawyer Bo Xu, a Senior Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, conducted an in-depth analysis of the legal risks and preventive measures for directors, supervisors, and senior executives (DS&Es) in fulfilling their duties under the new Company Law.

He began by elaborating on the connotations and specific manifestations of DS&Es’ Duty of Care, detailing their application in corporate governance, capital supervision, and liquidation processes.

Regarding the liability system for breaches of duty, Lawyer Xu highlighted that the new Company Law stipulates civil, administrative, and even criminal liabilities, illustrating these points with case studies. He particularly emphasized the diverse criminal risks DS&Es may face during operations, such as embezzlement, tax-related offenses, and fraud, urging heightened vigilance. Finally, he proposed strategies for mitigating criminal legal risks in DS&Es’ duties, which can help enterprises enhance legal risk awareness and promote compliant operations.

Roundtable Discussion

The second half of the roundtable discussion focused on “End-to-End Risk Control for Overseas Enterprises”, hosted by Pengli Zhao, Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm. Participants included Xiaokang Bai, General Counsel of Lenovo Group; Tolek, Senior Consultant of the Financial and Legal Center at Yuandong Group; Weihua Zhang, Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of United Energy Group; Wei Li, Director of P.C.WOO & Zhonglun W.D. LLP; and Huishan Pei, Partner at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm.

Industry experts shared insights based on their respective business characteristics and practical experience, delving into topics such as effective risk identification and assessment for overseas enterprises, risk prevention strategies in supply chain management, and approaches for legal compliance across different countries and regions.

 They emphasized the need for enterprises to establish robust risk identification and assessment mechanisms to comprehensively evaluate potential political, economic, and legal risks, while also strengthening legal research for local laws and adopting diversified supply chain strategies to mitigate risks associated with single suppliers or regions, thereby ensuring the stability and security of supply chain.

Closing Remarks

As the forum drew to a successful close, Lawyer Min Li, Executive Committee Member and Senior Partner of Zhonglun W&D Law Firm, delivered the closing speech. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to all the distinguished guests, experts, and corporate representatives for their enthusiastic participation and insightful discussions. The forum not only provided valuable insights into comprehensive risk management for enterprises but also charted a clear course for the implementation of internationalization strategies. He also expressed his hope that Zhonglun W&D Law Firm would continue to deliver high-quality legal services, supporting businesses in pursuing globalization with confidence. Finally, Lawyer Min Li declared the forum a completely success and looked forward to future gatherings where everyone could reconvene to explore more pressing topics.