David Chen

• Outbound Mergers & Acquisitions

• Foreign Direct Investment

• Private Equity & Investment Funds

• International Trade & Compliance

• Commercial Arbitration & Civil Litigation

Wei (David) Chen is Head of Cross-Border Transactions and based at the firm’s Beijing office. With extensive experience in outbound mergers and acquisitions and foreign direct investment, Mr. Chen has built a reputation as one of China’s most distinguished cross-border transactional lawyers. He advises leading state-owned enterprises, investment funds, and multinational corporations.

Mr. Chen has emerged as a key figure in Africa’s mining deal community in China. He served as the chief editor of the authoritative Legal Guide to Foreign Investment, M&A, and Mining in African Countries (2024), published in conjunction with the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). During the summit, he led the firm’s efforts to engage with visiting African delegations and co-hosted two high-profile business forums in Beijing with the Embassy of Namibia and the Embassy of Côte d'Ivoire. The Namibia forum featured His Excellency Nangolo Mbumba, President of Namibia, while the Côte d'Ivoire forum was keynoted by His Excellency Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Vice President of Côte d'Ivoire.

Mr. Chen has served as the chief editor of three compendium publications on M&A and foreign investment, with a particular focus on the mining sector. Each publication provides an overview of investment frameworks in a number of jurisdictions, offering Chinese investors authoritative guidance on market entry and M&A. Each edition compiles expert contributions from top law firms in the respective jurisdictions, structured around a legal questionnaire.

2022: Legal Guide to Foreign Investment and M&A in RCEP Member States, covering the investment regimes across all Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam).

2023: Legal Guide to Foreign Investment and M&A in 12 Latin American Countries, featuring insights from leading law firms in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

2024: Legal Guide to Foreign Investment, M&A, and Mining in African Countries, analyzing the legal perspective of M&A and mining investments in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.