The 2025 Chinese-Speaking Lawyers Conference—also presented as the Chinese-Speaking Lawyers’ Shenzhen Programme—opened on 15 September at the Qianhai International Convention Centre. More than 500 lawyers, overseas Chinese community leaders, specialists, academics, Shenzhen companies and industry-association representatives from over seventy countries and regions gathered to discuss innovative cooperation in global industry coordination and international legal services, and to support Shenzhen businesses entering international markets through the rule of law.
Legal and business representatives gather in Shenzhen
Attendees included Li Fei, former chair of the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People’s Congress; Zhang Jianmin, deputy director of the General Affairs Department and a first-level inspector at the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council; Yu Jia, director of the Membership and Business Department of the Belt and Road Legal Services Alliance; Zhang Mingqi, executive deputy director of the Legal Advisory Committee of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and former vice-president of the China Law Society; Li Feng, chair of the Guangdong Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese; Chen Yongkang, Party Committee member and deputy director of the Guangdong Department of Justice; and Wang Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee.
The conference focused on global industry coordination and international legal services, providing a forum for lawyers, companies and professional organisations from different countries and regions.
The Longgang session and new opportunities for cross-border cooperation
On 16 September, the Longgang session of the 2025 Chinese-Speaking Lawyers Conference opened at the Fenglong Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Park in Shenzhen’s Longgang District. Chinese-speaking lawyers, company representatives and institutional guests from more than twenty countries and regions came together to explore new opportunities for cross-border legal and commercial cooperation.
Jinglan Wang attended on behalf of the Chinese Law Association in Spain (ACD Spain), in her capacity as Director of its Youth Section, and took part in the signing of the cooperation agreement.
Legal services supporting business internationalisation
The conference went beyond dialogue between the legal and business communities. It also demonstrated how Longgang District is using international legal services to help local industries expand abroad and to advance institutional opening. The approach discussed at the event marks a shift from protecting businesses through law to connecting them through legal networks, placing legal services at the leading edge of companies’ international expansion.
Strategic cooperation agreements signed
At the event, the Shenzhen Longgang District Lawyers Working Committee signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the European Chinese Lawyers Association and ACD Spain. The agreement establishes new mechanisms for legal services, professional exchange and business cooperation.
During the conference, the European Chinese Lawyers Association and ACD Spain also signed a Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation on Legal Services with several Longgang business associations, creating a support network for companies expanding abroad. A representative of a Longgang technology company said that having Chinese-speaking lawyers act as “internationalisation guides” would give businesses greater confidence when entering European markets and help them avoid unnecessary detours.
