Pinsent Masons partners with CCL in China
Pinsent Masons has followed up the opening of a new office in Shenzhen with government approval to enter a joint venture in the Qianhai Free Trade Zone with Chinese corporate law firm China Commercial Law Firm (CCL). The joint venture is the first of its kind in the Qianhai Free Trade Zone and Mainland China.
The relationship will see the two firms maintain their independent name and offices, but will work together on matters for existing clients and win work from prospective clients. The joint venture will see the two firms bring together their networks in China and globally to service both Chinese and international clients, states Pinsent Masons. The joint venture comes after Pinsent Masons officially opened its Shenzhen office on 22 January 2026 – the firm’s third office in mainland China and fourth in Greater China.
Pinsent Masons has operated in China for more than 40 years, with a particular focus on sectors such as construction, infrastructure and energy. CCL has more than 260 partners and 3,000 lawyers in 58 offices around China. Founded in 1993, CCL is one of the first partnership law firms in China. Both law firms share experience and expertise in energy, infrastructure, M&A, capital markets, banking and finance, real estate, construction, arbitration and mediation, and pharmaceuticals and healthcare, among other practice areas.
Pinsent Masons’ global senior partner Andrew Masraf said the joint venture was an exciting development for the firm: “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,’ Andrew said. In particular, we are well positioned to continue to take the opportunities created by the flow of work between China and the Middle East, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors. We see this as a great driver of work for us across our global network and really plays to our strengths as a firm”.
Chief partner of China Commercial Law Firm, Gao Shu, said the firm was excited to be working with Pinsent Masons: “Our aim is to build a seamless service for cross-border legal services for our clients,’ he said.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”.
