Chongwen Li

Practice Areas

Litigation & Arbitration, Debt Restructuring & Non-performing Assets, Compliance & Investigation

Professional Memberships

Legal Professional, China Banking Industry Association

Off-campus Mentor, Renmin University of China

Former Researcher, Center of Study of Difficult and Complicated Cases, China University of Political Science and Law

Former Arbitrator, Wuhan Arbitration Commission

Personal

Mr. Li obtained his LL.B. degree from Southwest University of Political Science and Law and LL.M. degree from Jilin University. He has been working as a PRC qualified lawyer in the dispute resolution area for over 20 years. Drawing on solid professional skills, profound practical experience, meticulous approaches, and the ability to maintain a comprehensive perspective and devise innovative solutions to disputes, he has achieved exceptional success, won the trust of his clients, and established an outstanding reputation in the industry.

Mr. Li is adept at handling large, complicated, difficult commercial disputes regarding banking and financing, securities investment, real estate cooperative development, control and takeover of listed companies, venture capital, construction, etc. Mr. Li leads a team of more than 10 lawyers with solid academic and practice background handling highly influential and representative cases before the Supreme People's Court and its five circuit courts, high and intermediate people's courts of major provinces and cities in China, as well as China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Beijing International Arbitration Center (BIAC), and Shenzhen Arbitration Commission (SZAC). He and his team are dedicated to providing professional and practical dispute resolution strategies to clients and creatively solving litigation risks and business crises. Several cases that his team represented are selected into the Gazette of the Supreme People's Court and other case collection publications.

Mr. Li is highly recommended by many of his clients, including banking institutions such as China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Shengjing Bank, and their branches, non-bank financial institutions such as Haitong Securities Co., Ltd., Huatai Security (Shanghai) Asset Management Co., Ltd., Taikang Asset Management Co., Ltd., China Cinda Asset Management Co., Ltd., China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd., CMW Asset Management Co., Ltd., Guangdong Utrust Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., Cedars International Trust Co., Ltd., Zhong Chuan Finance Co., Ltd., and AVIC Trust Co., Ltd., state-owned giants such as China Communications Constructions, China Energy Investment Corporation, China Railway Group Limited and Fujian Metallurgical (Holding) Co., Ltd., well-known private enterprises such as Fujian Guancheng, Chongqing Lummy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Rong Yu Group Co., Ltd., Qing Dian Energy Group, and Huijin Lifang Asset Management, foreign-related corporations such as Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Cummins (China) Investment Co., Ltd., as well as government agencies and government-sponsored institutions such as Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing Housing Provident Fund Center, and the Information Center of China's Ministry of Finance.

Work Highlights

Litigation

• Represented Fujian Rare Earth (Group) Co., Ltd. before the Supreme People's Court in the second instance trial and review of retrial claims concerning its approximately CNY 1 billion contract dispute with Xiushui Jutong Investment Holding Co., Ltd. and a third party Jiangxi Jutong Industry Co., Ltd. and won the case for the client. This is the first case where the Supreme People's Court has upheld, through a judgment, the validity of an equity transfer guarantee under which the ownership of the equity was acquired by the creditor upon liquidation of the equity after the obligor had failed to fulfil its obligations guaranteed. In addition, the second-instance judgment of the case has been included in the Interpretation and Application of the Minutes of National Court Work Conference for Trial of Civil and Commercial Cases composed by the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.2 of the Supreme People's Court

• Represented Beihai Weihao Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. and Beihai Animal Byproducts Import and Export Co., Ltd. of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in their over CNY 53 million dispute with Guangxi Beisheng Group Co., Ltd. about a land use right transfer agreement before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The case set the precedent that confirmation of the invalidation of a contract is not subject to statute of limitations. The case has been included as a representative case in the 9th issue of the Gazette of the Supreme People's Court in 2006

• Represented Anhua Meibo Group in its approximately CNY 1 billion dispute with Yihe Yinfeng Industry Co., Ltd. and others over an equity transfer agreement before the Supreme People's Court and helped the client recover hundreds of millions worth of losses in CNY by settling the dispute through compromise

• Represented China Cinda Asset Management Co., Ltd. in its approximately CNY 830 million dispute with Jiujiang Chemical Factory and Jiujiang Chemical Fiber Factory, among others, over a loan guarantee agreement before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Jiangxi Province and won the case for the client, with the judgment fully enforced through debt restructuring

• Represented a state-owned construction company before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Heilongjiang Province in its dispute of around CNY 500 million with a real estate company over a construction contract

• Represented an individual before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Hainan Province in his approximately CNY 200 million dispute with a Hainan-based industry company and another individual over a contract for establishment of a joint venture, joint development of real estate, and private lending, winning the case for the client and helping him achieve his business goals through enforcement by auction

• Represented a Chinese mainland company and a Hong Kong-based investment company in their approximately CNY 430 million contract dispute with an urban administration bureau before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Hebei Province, obtaining a final judgment in favor of the clients

• Represented Guangdong State Grid Co., Ltd. before the Supreme People's Court in the retrial of the client's approximately CNY 300 million dispute with Jieyang Luyuan Stock Company Limited and other entities over a power supply contract, persuaded the court to change the venue of the hearings to ensure a fair trial and helped secure a settlement between the parties, recovering nearly CNY 100 million worth of direct losses for the client and avoiding billions of CNY of potential losses in other similar cases

• Represented Hainan Changyu Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Hainan Province in its dispute of about CNY 200 million with Xinlong Holding (Group) Co., Ltd. and an individual over a contract for establishment of a joint venture and joint development of real estate and successfully caused the case moved up to the Supreme People's Court, which then remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial. The client ended up winning the case and causing the debtors to abide by the judgment

• Represented CITIC Guoan Group Co., Ltd. and Skyworth Group Co., Ltd. before the Supreme People's Court and High People's Court of Jiangsu Province in their contract dispute of over CNY 200 million with Jiangsu Administration for Industry and Commerce and won the case for the client. In this case, the preservation measure employed against the administration caused it to surrender a land parcel used by a company under it, and the surrendered land was auctioned off to fully compensate the client for all its principal, interest, legal costs, and attorney's fee, among other losses

• Represented Beijing Uni-construction Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. in its approximately CNY 150 million dispute with Minfu Property Group Co., Ltd. over an entrustment agreement before the Supreme People's Court and won the case for the client

• Represented Weihai City Huancui District Rural Credit Cooperative before the Supreme People's Court in the retrial of an approximately CNY 80 million dispute with Kunming Commercial Bank (now known as Fudian Bank) over the right of recourse to certain negotiable instruments and a guarantee agreement and protected the client from all liability by settling the dispute through compromise

Mr. Li’s bio can be found here: https://en.zhonglun.com/team/lichongwen.html

Languages Spoken

Chinese

Experience

Partner, Zhong Lun Law Firm, 2014 to present

Partner, Grandway Law Offices, 2012-2014

Partner, Beijing Kaiwen Law Firm, 2002-2012

Associate, Beijing Kaiyuan Law Firm, 2001-2002

Judge of a people's court, 1992-2001

Expert in these Jurisdictions

PRC Bar, 2002