Commerce & Finance Law Offices

Litigation Arbitration

Partner

1982-1984, The Supreme People’s Procuratorate

1987-1989, China Industrial and Commercial Economic Development Corporation

1995-1998, Zhong Lun Law Firm

1998-2005, Zhongji Law Firm

2006-present, Commerce & Finance Law Offices

Peking University Law School, Bachelor of Laws, 1982

Graduate School of China University of Political Science and Law, Master of Laws, 1987

Cornell Law School, LLM, 1992

McGill University Faculty of Law, LLB, 1994

Over 30 years, Mr. Hongji LI has been specializing in litigation and arbitration to solve complex and difficult cases; meanwhile, he has gained a high reputation among clients and in the legal profession for his outstanding performance. In addition, Mr. LI has been continuously recommended as a leading lawyer in the field of dispute resolution in China by international legal rating agencies for many years. In 2018, he was recommended as the No. 1 among the Chinese litigators in Band 1 by LegalBand; in 2021and 2022, he was recommended as a “Senior Statespeople” in the fields of “Dispute Resolution: Litigation” and “Dispute Resolution: Arbitration” by Chambers, and also ranked in the “Most in Demand Arbitrators in China”.

“There are always more solutions than difficulties”, “Bring up hypothesis boldly while prove it conscientiously and carefully”, and “Only say those that can be supported by evidence and proof”. The characteristics of Mr. LI in handling cases and solving legal issues are to find the inherent logic of things and clarify the legal relations among complex or simple evidence and facts, so as to determine the focus of the dispute that determines the direction and outcome of a case.

To be well versed in the legislative considerations behind the legal provisions, the departmental law theories, and the business and processes of clients are the requirements of Mr. LI for himself and other lawyers in the team; meanwhile, the typical procedure for Mr. LI and his team to handle cases is to have each and every case fully demonstrated, sort out and clarify the relevant legal issues, formulate a reasonable plan and then put it into implementation. In this way, in the cases handled by him, the results thereof can always meet or even exceed the expectations of clients and make clients satisfied.

Mr. Hongji LI attaches great importance to team building, cultivation of young lawyers, and improvement of professional quality and team spirit; meanwhile, he requires for the pursuit of excellence. Accordingly, the team led by Mr. LI has been well-acclaimed and highly recognized in the industry for the high-quality legal services provided.

As a senior arbitrator, Mr. Hongji LI hears nearly 100 commercial arbitration cases every year, with the arbitration institutions where he has heard cases including: China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, China Maritime Arbitration Commission, Beijing Arbitration Commission, Shanghai International Arbitration Center, the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, and Swiss Arbitration Association etc.

Recent cases:

Tort Liability Disputes Acted for China Telecom in the lawsuit filed against the person who destroyed the Sino-US Cable Network, in which the defendant has paid the amount of the claim in full, making it the first case for such an accident. Assisted Haisheng Juice to file a lawsuit against Morgan Stanley (Asia) for a claim on the ground that its improper advice constituted infringement. The amount claimed is equivalent to the amount of USD 40 million that is claimed in another lawsuit filed with the London Commercial Court by its affiliate Morgan Stanley (International) against Haisheng Juice with respect to a derivative contract for foreign exchange and futures hedging. In the way, “parallel litigation” is used to hedge against the financial derivatives hedging. In the end, the case was closed with a settlement reached between the parties, making it the only case at that time in which a domestic enterprise successfully refused to pay for the losses arising from the financial derivatives trading of an international financial institution. Acted for China Construction Bank to provide legal advice for it in the first bond default of a state-owned enterprise in China (Tianwei Group); after Tianwei Group entered the bankruptcy proceedings, acted for CCB Trust in the lawsuit filed with the Higher People’s Court of Beijing Municipality against China South Industries Group Corporation, parent company of Tianwei Group, and Baobian Electric, an affiliated listed company of it, on the ground of tort, involving an amount of nearly CNY 1 billion. At present, the case is still under trial. Acted for Mari Mundi III Limited, a subsidiary of China Merchants Capital, in a lawsuit filed against Shanxi Tianjian Huaxia Trading Co., Ltd. , Shanxi Jinbang Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. , and Ruizhong GONG etc. with respect to the tort liability dispute, with the amount involved reaching approximately USD 51 million. After the plaintiff originated a loan overseas to the parent company of the defendants that was registered in Hong Kong, the defendants maliciously transferred their assets in China, thereby hollowing out the commercial value of the equity held by the Hong Kong company. As a result, it became meaningless for the plaintiff to file a lawsuit in Hong Kong based on the loan contract. In such a case, Mr. LI and his team creatively proposed to file a lawsuit on the ground of tort liability, and directly filed a lawsuit against Shanxi Tianjian, the company which had transferred the assets, and Shanxi Jinbang, the company which received the assets, in the Mainland of China. This case has been accepted by the Higher People’s Court of Beijing Municipality for the first instance and is under trial. Equity Investment Disputes Acted for CCB Cultural Industry Equity Investment Fund to initiate an arbitration in the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission against the shareholders of Galloping Horse and their heirs, including Ping LI, Li LI and Yan JIN etc., involving a target amount of CNY 700 million. Under the unfavorable factors such as the death of the original actual controller, Mr. LI and his team managed to have most of the client’s claims upheld, and thus won the case for the client; moreover, in the follow-up execution procedures, Mr. LI and his team fully leveraged their skillful application of civil procedures and other procedures to actually obtain compensation for the client, thereby protecting the best interests of the client. Acted for a fund company under Industrial Bank in responding to a lawsuit filed with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court regarding a dispute over the false transfer of fund assets, with the plaintiff being an enterprise under AVIC Trust. Shengyun Environment-Protection, a listed company, illegally carved an official seal and defraud an amount of nearly CNY 100 million in equity transfer payment from the plaintiff. Through criminal reporting and many other channels, Mr. LI eventually helped the client exempt from all legal liabilities. Acted for a fund under CICC to initiate an arbitration with China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission against the actual controller of a pharmaceutical company that intended to be listed, requesting for payment of CNY330 million in compensation for profits. In this case, Mr. LI completed the property preservation in a timely manner and won a full victory for the client. International Trade Disputes Acted for China North Industries to file a lawsuit against Daewoo Corporation and its related parties in China, thereby avoiding the provisions in the arbitration clause as agreed by both parties to file arbitration with the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. In this case, the USD 10 million L/C that had been accepted and negotiated was frozen. Acted for China Far East International Trading Corporation to file a lawsuit against an Italian company with respect to the quality of a complete sets of equipment imported by it, in which the installments of the installment-based letter of credit that had been paid were frozen, and the clause set out in the contract for arbitration in Stockholm was abolished. In the end, the claim was successful and the client was relieved of the obligation to pay. Acted for COSCO Shipping in handling the marine pollution case concerning the tanker named “Prestige”. In this case, an agreement was reached with the Spanish government (the plaintiff), the lawyers of the relevant rights holders and the American Bureau of Shipping (the defendant) to avoid the risk of COSCO Group and its affiliates being listed as co-defendants as the last repairer of the shipwrecked tanker. Acted for COSCO Huizhou Ocean Shipping Agency in the appeal regarding smuggling. In the second instance, the first-instance judgment ruling that a fine of CNY 2.4 billion was imposed on Huizhou Ocean Shipping Agency was revoked. In the process of handling the case, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress made an explanation with the effect of legislative interpretation, clarifying the limit of criminal liability for the superior entity of a wholly state-owned subsidiary. Acted for Yunnan Copper Co., Ltd. in handling several long-term contracts with Rio Tinto Group and Trafigura for the purchase of copper concentrate. Due to the decrease in the price of raw materials and the insufficiency in the production capacity of the buyer, performing the contract would lead to a loss to the buyer. After negotiation, the original contract for dispute resolution in Singapore International Arbitration Center, London Court of International Arbitration and other places was eventually rescinded, and the buyer was not subject to any liability, thereby avoiding hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for the client. Acted for a state-owned grain and oil company in responding to an arbitration brought by a Singapore company before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. The case arose from the presence of “red beans” in the soybeans from the South America. It was agreed in the contract that the English law and the GAFTA arbitration rules shall apply thereto, and the dispute was concerned with the jurisdiction of the CIETAC, the control measures of the Chinese government on goods, L/C, maritime transportation, cargo damage and other issues. The claimant made a claim for more than USD 4 million, all of which was rejected. Thereafter, Mr. LI acted for the respondent in filing an arbitration for counterclaim, claiming a performance bond of CNY 2 million, which was fully supported. Acted for a major broadcasting organization in China in an arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Center, in which the objective to have the arbitration revoked was achieved, making the claim of the other party for USD 1.1 billion failed and thereby avoiding relevant risks for the client. Commercial Real Estate Disputes Acted for a subsidiary of CapitaLand in Singapore to file a lawsuit with the Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province against a real estate developer regarding the dispute over a commercial real estate sales contract, claiming more than CNY 100 million in overpaid housing purchase price and liquidated damages; in the end, all principal and most of the liquidated damages were supported by the court in the judgment, which has come into force and effect. Acted for a Singapore company to initiate an arbitration against a central enterprise in the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission regarding the dispute over the transfer of a construction-in-progress, requesting the tribunal to confirm the invalidity of the other party’s notice for rescinding the contract and requesting the other party to continue to perform the contract. In the end, the foregoing claims were upheld by the arbitral award, with the commercial value involved exceeding CNY 4 billion. Acted for China Merchants Group Huashang Finance Company in the lawsuit filed against Guangzhou Jingguang Company regarding a mortgage loan. After going through the pre-litigation preservation, trial and enforcement, more than HKD 700 million were all recovered.Recent honors:The Legal 500: China 2023 (Leading Individuals) asialaw 2022/23 rankings: Distinguished Practitioner 2022 LEGALBAND Top Ranked Lawyers Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Ranking 2022: Litigation star Chambers Global Guide 2022: Dispute Reslution (Senior Statespeople) Chambers Greater China Region Guide 2022: Dispute Reslution (Senior Statespeople) 2022 LEGALBAND Power List: Top 15 Litigators 2021 LEGALBAND Top Ranked Lawyers Chambers Global Guide 2021: Dispute Reslution (Senior Statespeople) Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide 2021: Dispute Reslution (Senior Statespeople) Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Ranking 2019: Highly Recommended