Partners of Winson Law Offices Join Gulf States Investment and Legal Forum

On April 12th, the inaugural "Gulf States Investment and Legal Forum" was successfully held at Tsinghua University's Shenzhen International Graduate School. The event was organized by the Tsinghua Alumni Association Shenzhen International Graduate School Chapter, with Winson's founder Zhao Wenjie, Ethen Gai, partner Xu Jinxu, and Mandy Ma invited to deliver keynote speeches in support of the forum.

Over 300 on-site participants, including Tsinghua alumni from Shenzhen, alumni from China University of Political Science and Law in Shenzhen, business leaders connected with the Shenzhen Sub-Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, lawyers from the Shenzhen Bar Association, and special guests, attended the event. Additionally, more than 2,350 individuals joined online. Participants focused on the theme "Empowering Enterprises to Go Global and Building a Compliance System," sharing insights on the business and investment climate in Gulf countries (GCC) that are of interest to enterprises going abroad. They discussed enhancing the capacity for foreign-related legal services and promoting the construction of "soft infrastructure" for enterprises expanding overseas.

During his speech at the event, Wu Xiaofeng, the Party Committee Secretary of Tsinghua University's Shenzhen International Graduate School, congratulated the organizers on the successful hosting of the forum and extended a warm welcome to the guest speakers who had traveled from afar. Secretary Wu noted that a new era in the relationship between China and the Arab world has fully commenced, with economic and trade cooperation, as well as business exchanges between China and Gulf countries, being more active than ever. He emphasized that for Chinese enterprises, going global and enhancing their level of internationalization is an essential path for growth and development. Secretary Wu also advised the participating companies to focus on building a sound compliance system and guarding against legal risks when expanding abroad, urging them to enhance their capabilities to handle complex legal and commercial environments.

In his speech, Fu Wangwei, the Deputy Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Service Division of the Shenzhen Small and Medium Enterprises Service Bureau, pointed out that "industrial going global" is a key initiative in Shenzhen. He noted that Shenzhen enterprises have a strong desire to expand abroad and that their product quality and pricing hold a global advantage. Deputy Director Fu stated that the Shenzhen Small and Medium Enterprises Service Bureau will continue to provide excellent service to businesses, working together to foster entrepreneur development and collaborative innovation between schools and enterprises. The bureau is committed to being a supportive "logistics officer" and a caring "parental figure," assisting companies in navigating financial, legal, fiscal, and tax risks encountered while going global. He also called on the attending enterprises to jointly build an ecosystem for going global and to collaborate in this effort.

Wang Wei, the Vice President of the Shenzhen Bar Association, mentioned in his speech that in the face of new environments and changes in foreign-related legal services, the Shenzhen legal profession adheres to international first-class standards and best practices. They are building a platform for legal services along the Belt and Road Initiative and   Chinese-speaking lawyers, deepening the reform of training talents, cooperation models, and service methods for foreign-related legal services. This serves China's overall strategy of opening up and the construction of the "Belt and Road," providing stronger international legal support for Chinese enterprises going global.

Gao Lei, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Tsinghua Alumni Association Shenzhen International Graduate School Chapter, introduced the organizing entities. Teacher Gao provided a detailed background and purpose of the forum and elaborated on the related circumstances of the organizing and undertaking units. He also gave a thorough introduction to the activities carried out by the alumni organization in serving alumni enterprises, promoting entrepreneur training, and supporting businesses in their international expansion efforts.

The Main Forum

After the leadership's opening remarks, the event moved into the thematic forum session.

Wang Linjie, the Director of the Legal Advisory Office of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Business Law Center, delivered a keynote speech titled "Legal Risk Prevention for Chinese Enterprises Overseas Investment." Combining the overall situation of China's foreign investment in recent years with the "Survey on the Current Situation and Intentions of Chinese Enterprises' Foreign Investment," Director Wang offered three pieces of advice for enterprises going abroad: First, they should determine the standards for compliance risk assessment and the priorities for compliance risk management based on industry characteristics, investment objectives, market environment, and risk conditions.

Second, attention should be paid to risk prevention and response regarding supply chain security standards in overseas investments. Third, there should be a focus on strengthening integrity and compliance construction in overseas investments. Finally, Director Wang also introduced the main functions and service network of the CCPIT and the Commercial Legal Services Center.

Xu Jinxu, the head of the Saudi branch of Winson, drawing on his many years of experience working with Saudi law, delivered a keynote speech titled "Saudi Arabia's National Opening and Chinese Investment Opportunities under the Vision 2030." In his speech, Director Xu provided a detailed introduction to Saudi Arabia's basic national conditions and its Vision 2030. He also analyzed the potential structural and business opportunities for Chinese enterprises in Saudi Arabia, considering their advantages. Additionally, Director Xu highlighted the characteristics of the Saudi legal system and elaborated on the efforts made by the Saudi government in recent years to increase foreign investment and improve commercial and civil legislation, continuously enhancing the business environment.

Wan Anfeng, the Vice President for the Middle East at Jitu Express, drawing on her experience as the General Manager of the Saudi company, where she oversaw the growth from scratch, delivered a keynote speech titled "Jitu Express's Journey to the Middle East." In her presentation, Mrs. Wan reviewed the development history of Jitu Express in the Middle East: Jitu Express entered Saudi Arabia in April 2021, built a core team and commenced trial operations within two months, and became a leading express brand in Saudi Arabia within 20 months. The company achieved full coverage of end-point delivery across Saudi Arabia, owning seven transfer centers, 3,000 operational delivery vehicles, and employing a local team of more than 3,000 people. Jitu Express also received the Saudi Annual Company Award for Logistics and End-Point Delivery in 2023 and ranked among the top three in the Saudi logistics market.

Ethen Gai, the founding partner of Winson law firm and a practical instructor at China University of Political Science and Law, delivered a keynote speech titled "The UAE's Legalized Business Environment in the New Era of China-Arab Relations." In his speech, Director Gai introduced the legal system and business environment characteristics of the UAE, integrating regional and ethnic concepts such as the Middle East, Gulf states, GCC countries, and the Arab world. He pointed out that although the UAE boasts a thriving commercial sector and developed trade, it has a low tax but high fee environment with a mix of good and bad elements. Therefore, it is necessary to budget carefully, enhance risk prevention, conduct thorough due diligence, and avoid blindly following investment trends. Director Gai also shared the efforts made by Winson in protecting the interests of Chinese enterprises, promoting corporate legal awareness, and integrating production, education, and research.

Guo Xiaoxi, the manager and head of the Chinese market at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), delivered a keynote speech titled "Dubai's Business Environment and Policy Sharing." In her presentation, Ms. Guo highlighted Dubai's global geographical advantages and top-tier tax and business policies in the Middle East, describing Dubai as a mature global talent pool, commercial gateway, and lifestyle hub for the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia region. She emphasized that since its establishment as a financial free zone in 2004, DIFC has become the largest and most developed financial and innovation ecosystem in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia, as well as a gathering place for world-leading multinational corporations. She welcomed Shenzhen enterprises to invest and establish operations in DIFC.

Closed-door session

In the afternoon, there was a closed-door session divided into two venues: "Enterprise Going Global" and "Foreign-Related Legal Services."

The "Enterprise Going Global" closed-door session featured special guests including Wan Anfeng (Vice President of Jitu Express for the Middle East), Xu Haotian (Chairman and Group CEO of DeepMENA), Xu Jinxu (Director of the Saudi branch of Winson Law Firm), and Mandy Ma (Partner at Winson Law Firm and convener of the Tsinghua-Peking University Alumni Organization in the Middle East). The guests engaged in in-depth exchanges with the attending entrepreneurs, drawing on their respective fields and understanding of the Gulf countries' business environments, and provided answers to the questions of concern to the participants. The "Enterprise Going Global" closed-door session saw enthusiastic registration and active participation, with a total of 85 founders and heads of enterprises interested in expanding into the Middle East in attendance.

The "Foreign-Related Legal Services" closed-door session featured special guests Zhao Wenjie (Founder of Winson Law Firm) and Guo Xiaoxi (Manager of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Head of the Chinese Market). Director Zhao, drawing on his many years of legal practice experience in the UAE and practical experience serving various state-owned enterprises' branches in the UAE, jointly discussed topics such as judicial protection for Chinese-funded enterprises and the cultivation of foreign-related legal talent. Guo Xiaoxi provided on-site Q&A on issues related to the registration and establishment of financial institutions and companies such as funds and family offices in Dubai. The "Foreign-Related Legal Services" closed-door session was primarily attended by foreign-related lawyers, with a total of 47 participants.

The forum was reportedly guided by the Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen Small and Medium Enterprises Service Bureau, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Commercial and Legal Services Center, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shenzhen Sub-Council, and Shenzhen Bar Association. It was organized by the Tsinghua Alumni Association Shenzhen International Graduate School Branch, with the sponsorship of Chuangrong Alumni Association and Pengsheng Alumni Association. The forum was co-organized by the Training Institute of Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, Guangdong Lawyers Association Greater Bay Area Committee, Shenzhen Bar Association International Exchange and Cooperation Committee, Shenzhen Bar Association Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Law Committee, and Shenzhen Bar Association International Investment Law Committee. Support was provided by the China University of Political Science and Law Shenzhen Alumni Association, Middle East Tsinghua-Peking University Alumni Organization, UAE Winson Law Firm, Jianshang Going Out, and "Middle East Watch" DeePMENA.

This forum established a platform for the first time that allowed for deep integration and mutual support between the business community and legal practitioners in the process of going global. It also pioneered the approach of simultaneously focusing on "hard product exports" and "soft infrastructure establishment." It is reported that the organizing body will continue to arrange overseas study tours for interested enterprises and aims to institutionalize the organization and hosting of the forum into a series, providing long-term services for Shenzhen enterprises venturing abroad.