Pinsent Masons Enters China Joint Venture With CCL To Capture Growing China–Middle East Opportunities
Pinsent Masons forms joint venture with China Commercial Law Firm in Qianhai Free Trade Zone.
Pinsent Masons Enters China Joint Venture with CCL to Capture Growing China–Middle East Opportunities
International law firm Pinsent Masons has received government approval to establish a joint venture in the Qianhai Free Trade Zone with leading Chinese corporate law firm China Commercial Law Firm (CCL).
The joint venture, named China Commercial Law Firm and Pinsent Masons LLP, Qianhai Joint Operation Office, is the first of its kind in the Qianhai Free Trade Zone and mainland China. The collaboration will allow both firms to maintain their independent names and offices while jointly servicing existing clients and pursuing new business opportunities.
By combining their networks in China and globally, Pinsent Masons and CCL aim to provide integrated legal services to both Chinese and international clients. The joint venture follows the official opening of Pinsent Masons’ Shenzhen office on 22 January 2026, marking the firm’s third office in mainland China and fourth in Greater China.
Pinsent Masons has operated in China for more than 40 years and is recognised for its work in construction, infrastructure, and energy, maintaining a top ranking in Belt-and-Road Initiative matters since 2017. With 30 offices worldwide, the firm advises clients on both transactional and contentious matters.
China Commercial Law Firm has more than 260 partners and over 3,000 lawyers across 58 offices in China. Founded in 1993, it is among the country’s earliest partnership law firms and is consistently ranked among the top 10 law firms in China, with a particularly strong presence in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and Southern China.
The joint venture will combine expertise across energy, infrastructure, M&A, capital markets, banking and finance, real estate, construction, arbitration and mediation, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
Andrew Masraf, Global Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, said,
"The opening of our Shenzhen office and the announcement of the joint venture with CCL, together with the opening of our office in Riyadh last year and in Poland in May this year, positions us to service our clients in key areas of global economic growth,"
Gao Shu, Chief Partner of China Commercial Law Firm, stated
"Our aim is to build a seamless service for cross-border legal services for our clients,This alliance will build a powerful legal entity for Chinese enterprises as they expand globally, but will also, through the deep integration of Chinese and international legal service systems, help redefine the landscape of international commercial law."
James Morgan-Payler, Head of Asia Pacific at Pinsent Masons, highlighted the firm’s steady expansion in the region over the past four decades. He noted that the Shenzhen office and the joint venture will enable the firm to advise clients in finance, technology, and logistics—sectors with significant presence in Qianhai.
‘We have been steadily and strategically growing our presence in the Asia Pacific for more than 40 years, since opening our Hong Kong office in 1983,
Kanyi Lui, Head of China at Pinsent Masons, described the alliance as a “partnership of equals,” adding that combining the firm’s international capabilities with CCL’s local expertise will help deliver practical and commercially focused legal solutions for clients operating in complex global markets.
"China is one of the most strategically important markets for our clients. Chinese corporates are also quickly globalizing. The combination of our international capabilities and CCL’s scale and local expertise reflects our shared commitment to providing clients with seamless, practical and commercial legal solutions in an increasingly complex world."
The joint venture strengthens Pinsent Masons’ presence in China while complementing its strategic expansion in the Middle East, creating a stronger platform for cross-border legal services across energy, infrastructure, finance, technology, and other key sectors.
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