I. Trade Secret Litigation
Madam Liu has long represented multinational corporations and large state-owned enterprises in disputes involving infringement of core technical trade secrets. Her experience covers civil litigation, criminal and administrative proceedings, as well as coordination between domestic and cross-border procedures.
1. GE CT equipment trade secret litigation (2007)
Represented General Electric Company in civil litigation arising from infringement of its CT equipment trade secrets. The case involved the aggregation of claims based on both trade secrets and copyright. Key evidence was first secured through administrative proceedings and was then obtained by the court for purposes of infringement findings, ultimately leading to injunctive relief. The matter was of demonstrative significance in the early development of evidence preservation and element-by-element analysis in Chinese trade secret litigation. It was recognized by the Quality Brands Protection Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment as one of the Top 10 IP Protection Cases in China for 2007–2008.
2. GE Energy coal gasification trade secret litigation (2008–2012)
Represented GE Energy (USA), LLC in civil litigation against multiple listed companies and chemical engineering institutes for infringement of its coal gasification process and related trade secrets. Overseas inventors of the technology appeared in court to testify. The case was pioneering in the preservation of core evidence, appearance of expert witnesses, and methods for proving trade secret infringement. The court ultimately granted injunctive relief through a judicial mediation statement. The matter was selected for the “50 Typical IP Judicial Protection Cases of Chinese Courts in 2012” published by the Supreme People’s Court of China.
3. Sinopec butyl rubber trade secret litigation (2013–2026, ongoing)
Representing Sinopec in civil litigation arising from the systematic misappropriation of its butyl rubber technology. The case has proceeded through the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, the Beijing High People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Court, and is currently continuing before the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. It has raised highly typical issues relating to trade secret disclosure, evidence preservation, methods of technical comparison, the right holder’s autonomy in defining the scope of the asserted trade secrets, the boundaries of judicial review, injunctive relief, and procedural protection.
In addition, Madam Liu has represented Siemens, Corning, IBM, Nike, and JBT, among other multinational companies, in trade secret disputes in China.
II. Product Liability Litigation
Since 1998, Madam Liu has represented international automotive manufacturers and other multinational companies in product liability litigation in China, including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, Yokohama Rubber, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. In all such cases that proceeded to judgment rather than settlement, the courts declined to find the existence of a product defect and dismissed the damages claims in full.
These matters were concentrated in the early period of judicial handling of automobile product liability disputes in China and had demonstrative significance in the clarification of defect analysis, review of appraisal opinions, causation, use of expert witnesses, and the allocation and shifting of the burden of proof. Among them, the Mitsubishi Pajero case has been widely regarded as the “first case” that prompted the establishment of China’s automobile recall regime.
1. Mitsubishi Pajero product liability litigation (2001–2005)
Represented Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in defending a product liability claim brought by a consumer arising from alleged brake failure in a Pajero V73 vehicle. The matter was heard by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court and the Beijing High People’s Court. Following the formal recognition of expert assistants under the 2002 rules on civil evidence, this case was the first in which an overseas expert appeared in court in mainland China. The case corrected the then-prevalent but oversimplified understanding that the burden of proof in product liability was simply “reversed,” and helped clarify how the burden of proof should in fact be allocated in product liability tort litigation. The courts ultimately found no product defect and dismissed the damages claims. The case has often been described as the “first case” that triggered the establishment of China’s automobile recall system, and its reasoning had demonstrative influence on early automobile product liability adjudication in China.
2. Yokohama tire product liability litigation (2002–2004)
Represented The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. in defending a consumer product liability claim relating to tires. This was the first product liability case in China involving a foreign element in which Japanese law, specifically Japan’s Product Liability Act, was applied as the governing law. Against a public backdrop in which claimed damages exceeded RMB 10 million, the court ultimately found no product defect and dismissed all claims. The case was later reported in Overview of Chinese Trial Cases.
3. Chrysler Jeep Wrangler fire litigation (2013–2015)
Engaged by Chrysler to represent its dealer in defending a consumer product liability lawsuit filed in Yinchuan, Ningxia, arising from a fire involving a Jeep Wrangler vehicle. The matter went through first instance, second instance, and retrial proceedings before the Ningxia High People’s Court. The appellate court held that it could not exclude the possibility that the fire was caused by consumer-installed aftermarket equipment such as a winch, and therefore the claimant could not prove the existence of a product defect or causation between any alleged defect and the fire. On that basis, the appellate court reversed the first-instance judgment and dismissed the plaintiff’s claims.
4. Product liability litigation involving a well-known German agrochemical product (2015–2018)
Represented a leading German agrochemical manufacturer in a series of product liability lawsuits arising out of widespread crop failure across the third and fourth accumulated temperature zones, involving more than 1.1 million mu of affected farmland. The litigation spanned multiple local courts, intermediate courts, provincial high courts, and the Supreme People’s Court, and involved seed manufacturers, coating companies, distribution channels, and large numbers of farmers. Upon being retained, Madam Liu immediately organized a legal team to enter the field and preserve evidence on an urgent basis, given the short survival period of on-site crop evidence and the risk of irreversible loss if action were delayed. Her team promptly completed preservation of seeds, soil, agrochemicals, and site conditions, while simultaneously using GPS positioning and drone imaging to document the accident scene and the growth conditions of comparator fields over a large area. This work enabled subsequent judicial appraisal bodies to assess causation on a sufficiently developed factual record, identify the true cause of loss, and avoid a judicial finding of product defect based on incomplete facts. As lead partner and lead trial counsel, Madam Liu designed the overall litigation strategy, case-specific response plans, procedural coordination across jurisdictions, and unified plans for fact-finding, evidence preservation, and judicial appraisal, while coordinating numerous related proceedings across locations and court levels.
In addition, in product liability litigation and related compliance matters, Madam Liu has represented Daimler, Porsche, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Bombardier, Thyssenkrupp, Bayer, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Dow, and Danaher, among others, in China.
III. Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs) and FRAND Disputes (2017–2020)
Represented PanOptis, Optis Cellular, Optis Wireless, and Unwired Planet in defending against Huawei’s actions before the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court seeking determination of FRAND rates and asserting abuse of dominant market position under Chinese antitrust law. These proceedings ran in parallel with patent infringement actions, FRAND disputes, and anti-suit injunction proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and courts in Germany and other jurisdictions, and attracted substantial global attention.
As lead trial counsel, Madam Liu determined the litigation positioning and overall deployment of the China proceedings on the basis of the client’s fundamental interests and broader strategic objectives. In the face of high-intensity evidence exchange, procedural maneuvering, and courtroom confrontation, she responded to sudden and unforeseeable developments in real time, maintained alignment between the China proceedings and the broader multi-jurisdictional litigation strategy, and accurately anticipated the opposing side’s procedural tactics and specific litigation pathways, thereby successfully countering procedural surprise.
IV. Letters of Credit and Cross-Border Payment Disputes
1. GE Medical Systems (Hong Kong) letter of credit arbitration (1998)
Acted for GE Medical Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, as beneficiary, in an arbitration arising from a transaction in which the buyer had already reimbursed the issuing bank, but the issuing bank subsequently became insolvent and the beneficiary did not receive payment under the letter of credit. Madam Liu commenced arbitration on behalf of the beneficiary and sought payment from the buyer. The arbitral tribunal ultimately upheld the beneficiary’s claim, held that the insolvency risk of the issuing bank should be borne by the buyer, and ordered payment of the purchase price.
2. Sinopec International letter of credit litigation (2021)
Represented Sinopec International Company Ltd. as beneficiary in letter of credit fraud litigation initiated by a bank before the Shanghai Financial Court. Running in parallel with that case were negotiation and payment proceedings before the Singapore High Court. The dispute involved a particular payment and financing structure in near-sea trade based on letters of indemnity (LOIs) issued against delivery without production of original bills of lading. As lead trial counsel, Madam Liu made full use of differences in rules and procedure across jurisdictions, devised a region-by-region, level-by-level, and stage-by-stage litigation strategy, and, even at the jurisdictional objection stage, advanced a fully developed merits defense supported by detailed evidence and analysis. This created maximum leverage for settlement and ultimately led to a successful resolution.
V. Trademark Litigation
“If You Are the One” trademark retrial (2016)
As lead trial counsel, represented Shenzhen ZhenAi Information Technology Co., Ltd. in the nationally prominent retrial concerning the “If You Are the One” trademark and prevailed. The dispute involved the trademark owner, the television program producer, and advertising partners, and was one of the most high-profile trademark disputes in China at the time. In the retrial proceedings, Madam Liu took the profit model specific to the industry as her point of entry and relied on China’s official national industrial classification standard to distinguish, with precision, the essential differences between television programming and matchmaking services in both industry attributes and profit structure, thereby enabling an accurate analysis of whether the services at issue were similar. The Guangdong High People’s Court adopted this reasoning and overturned the second-instance judgment. The case was selected as one of the Top 10 Annual IP Cases of the Supreme People’s Court in 2016.
VI. Defamation and Reputation Litigation
Law firm defamation dispute (2013–2016)
As lead partner and lead trial counsel, represented JunHe LLP and related parties in defamation litigation brought before the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court by Tongshang Law Firm and Jingtian & Gongcheng, with Merrill Lynch/Bank of America and Credit Suisse also named as defendants. The matter was one of the rare direct litigations between leading “Red Circle” Chinese law firms. Because the amounts claimed were exceptionally large and the dispute directly implicated firm-wide reputation and the shared core interests of all partners—with Tongshang claiming RMB 150 million and Jingtian & Gongcheng claiming RMB 100 million—the case attracted substantial attention within the legal market at the time.
Madam Liu was entrusted with the matter at a critical stage. While swiftly addressing the related public-relations crisis, she immediately identified key evidence and established the overall response strategy. In court, by revealing the relationship between the underlying structure of the dispute and the surface-level allegations, she enabled the court to assess the defamation claims in their true context and to reach a clear and stable conclusion, thereby effectively defusing the substantial risk the case posed to the firm and its partners.
Madam Liu has also handled reputation-related disputes in China for General Electric (China) Co., Ltd. and Shell (China) Limited.
Honors and Recognition
Dispute Resolution: Litigation
- Eminent Practitioner, Chambers, 2026
- Band 1, Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Chambers Global, 2025
- Band 1, Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Chambers Greater China Region, 2022–2025
- Band 1, Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2011–2021
- Who’s Who Legal, Global Product Liability Defence Lawyers, 2015–2022
- Who’s Who Legal, Global Life Sciences – Product Liability, 2017–2019
- Asialaw, Disputes Star of the Year (the only lawyer recognized from mainland China), 2015 and 2017
- Asian Legal Business (ALB), China’s Top 15 Litigators, 2020
- Asian Legal Business (ALB), Inaugural China Top 10 Litigators, 2013
- Asian Legal Business (ALB), China Top 15 Female Lawyers, 2012
