On December 5, 2025, the 13th Lujiazui Legal Forum was successfully held at the Shanghai International Convention Center.
Attendees included Mr. Zhou Hanmin (Member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and President of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association), Mr. Gu Quan (Secretary of the Party Committee and Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice), Ms. Liu Xiaohong (Director of the Shanghai Arbitration Commission and President of the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law), Mr. Sheng Leiming (Vice President of the All China Lawyers Association), Mr. Song Lie (Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice), Mr. Lü Xuecheng (Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Governor of Pudong New Area People's Government), Mr. David Yu (Vice Chairman of the Belt and Road Legal Services Alliance), Mr. Ding Wei (Vice Chairman of the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission), Ms. Huang Aiwu (Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director-General of the Pudong New Area Bureau of Justice), Mr. Shao Wanqiang (President of the Shanghai Bar Association), and Mr. Victor Dawes (Former Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association and Contact Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Committee).
Over 600 people attended the forum, including principals from municipal and district departments, representatives from law firms and arbitration organizations, university experts, legal professionals, and business leaders.
The forum was themed "Sailing Out and Rule of Law Safeguard — Building a Legal Bridge for High-Level Opening-Up." It aimed to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 4th Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the new requirements proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping for the development of the legal service industry. The event gathered wisdom from all sectors to build consensus and contribute solutions for Shanghai to accelerate its construction as an international legal service center and to safeguard the high-level "going global" of Chinese enterprises.
Mr. David Yu, founding partner of Llinks and representative of the Belt and Road Legal Services Alliance, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech titled "The Belt and Road Initiative and the Internationalization of Legal Services." Mr. Yu pointed out that as the Belt and Road Initiative enters a phase of high-quality development, legal services face severe challenges such as diversified demand and fragmented services. To counter these challenges, the Belt and Road Alliance has explored and formed a new model centered on "Network Collaboration, Full-Chain Empowerment, and Rule Leadership," aiming to build a cross-jurisdictional, full lifecycle legal service system. Leveraging its significant status within the UN Economic and Social Council and national-level planning, the Alliance plays an active role in promoting the convergence of cross-border rules and international cooperation. Finally, Mr. Yu advocated for deepening cooperation, strengthening professional support, and embracing digitalization to jointly contribute to building a legal bridge for high-level opening-up.
Mr. Wayne Chen, partner and Management Committee member of Llinks, was also invited to attend the event. In the afternoon session, he delivered a speech at the sub-forum themed "Legal Service Demand and Guarantee for Chinese Enterprises Going Global" and moderated the roundtable discussion. In his speech, Mr. Chen elaborated on the active efforts being made by Chinese law firms in areas such as gathering international talent, establishing international networks, and responding to national strategic needs. He also shared Llinks' practical experience in providing full-process legal services in fields like cross-border M&A, energy, finance, and healthcare to meet the demands of high-quality outbound expansion. During the roundtable discussion, Mr. Chen led an in-depth exchange with expert guests on hot topics including the challenges of corporate outbound expansion, international dispute resolution, and corporate international strategic layout.
