East & Concord Partners offers a comprehensive dispute resolution practice, with particular strength in arbitration. It is active in commercial disputes, notably those arising in the energy, construction and infrastructure, finance and technology and telecommunications sectors. Its team is regularly sought after by both international and domestic enterprises. Managing partner Qi Zhou is prominent in the arbitration scene, often acting as a senior arbitrator at the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. Chaoyi Ji heads the dispute resolution practice and is active in both litigation and arbitration. The firm represented a China Merchants Capital fund in an arbitration before the Beijing Arbitration Commission against Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group and its affiliates.
The firm's commercial disputes practice has acted in three significant matters spanning private equity recovery, cross-border corporate litigation, and international arbitration. The firm acted for a PE fund under China Merchants Capital in a Rmb1.2 billion share repurchase dispute against Dalian Wanda and related entities before the Beijing Arbitration Commission; the team swiftly secured asset preservation measures to create settlement leverage at a time when Wanda's total repurchase exposure ran to tens of billions, and ultimately recovered the entire repurchase price in full — an outcome unmatched among other Wanda investors.
In a separate matter, the firm acted for Beijing Enterprises Group in defending a profit distribution claim before the Beijing International Commercial Court, a cross-border dispute requiring concurrent application of both BVI and Chinese law; the court dismissed all of the plaintiff's claims in a ruling now regarded as a leading precedent on the application of BVI law by Chinese courts, shielding the client from potential follow-on exposure estimated to exceed Rmb200 million.
The firm also acted for General Electric Company and Harbin Electric Company Limited in defending a Rmb150 million insurance subrogation claim brought by four of China's largest insurers before an international arbitration tribunal following a large-scale power generation unit failure, with Ji leading all oral submissions in English and the tribunal having declared proceedings closed in December 2024 pending the final award.
“East & Concord Parters provides practicable and reliable legal advice and can always react within short timeframe.” – Commercial and transactions
“In this case, the lawyers from East & Concord Partners noticed that our company lacked key financial documents. They thus proved the reasonableness of our claims by applying for audit and evaluation, researching public cases, and citing the respondent’s financial performance from the previous year (to demonstrate that significant changes should not have occurred in just one year), making an outstanding contribution to our partial success in the arbitration.” – Commercial and transactions
“He always provides practical and realiable legal advice to help our company tackle the business challenges.”
"The first and most profound impression lawyer Yang has left on us is that he 'combines a strong sense of responsibility with professional expertise, and excels both in business-oriented practical thinking and judicial dispute resolution methods.' Lawyer Yang is skilled at grounding his approach in factual investigation. With his exceptional comprehension and analytical abilities, he focuses on details to directly identify the core essence of disputes — seeing the whole picture through a single detail — and strives to secure the best possible outcomes for clients. What is even more commendable is that Lawyer Yang always maintains a diligent and humble attitude. Throughout our cooperation, he has continued to learn and develop, consistently providing comprehensive and efficient legal services. We and the other business teams who have collaborated with him trust him deeply, and we regard Lawyer Yang as a long-term partner and friend."
