Witnessed by the Lao Ministry of Justice: T&H Law Firm Establishes Liaison Office in Laos in Support of the Belt and Road Initiative

Foreword

In March 2016, facilitated by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Chinese Embassy in Laos, Zhejiang T&H Law Firm and CLX Lao-China Law Firm entered into a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement on June 6, 2016, under which both firms agreed to establish reciprocal liaison offices to promote legal services in support of the socioeconomic development of China and Laos. After a year of preparation, the T&H Law Firm (Laos) Liaison Office was formally inaugurated on May 12, 2017.

On the afternoon of May 12, 2017, the inauguration ceremony for the T&H Law Firm (Laos) Liaison Office was held with great solemnity in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Dr. Wang Zheng, Director of Zhejiang T&H Law Firm, led a nine-member delegation of Zhejiang-based attorneys to join their counterparts from CLX Lao-China Law Firm and distinguished guests from both China and Laos in celebrating this milestone in T&H's international expansion strategy. The establishment of the liaison office was also T&H and CLX's tribute to the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, scheduled to take place in Beijing on May 14–15, 2017.

T&H was honored to have the directors of several prestigious Chinese law firms – including National Outstanding Law Firms, Zhejiang Famous Law Firms, and Zhejiang Outstanding Law Firms – attend the ceremony and bear witness to T&H's Belt and Road–oriented international legal service strategy. The Chinese guests in attendance included: Dai Menghua, Director of Zhejiang K&M Law Firm; Shen Xiangming, Director of Zhejiang Zhehang Law Firm; Chen Shengyou, Director of Zhejiang Kangcheng Law Firm; Wang Jianjun, Director of Zhejiang Wangjianjun Law Firm; Chen Yong, Director of Zhejiang Qianjiangchao Law Firm; Attorney Ling Guoquan; and Cheng Suhua, Chairman of e-Lawyer Alliance Technology Co., Ltd.

The Lao delegation was represented by over fifty distinguished guests, including the Minister and Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice of the Lao PDR, the Director and Deputy Directors of the Department of Lawyers, the Director and Deputy Directors of the Department of International Cooperation, the Director of the Department of Personnel, the President of the Lao Bar Association (LBA), the Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the President of the Lao Women's Union (LWU), the Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and representatives of the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Laos. The Ministry of Justice of the Lao PDR and other relevant national ministries attached great importance to and extended their full support for the launch of legal services between Chinese and Lao lawyers under the Belt and Road framework.

Embodying the enterprising and pragmatic spirit of Zhejiang's legal profession, the delegation's visit to explore the Lao legal services market marked a first for Zhejiang's legal community – and indeed, it was also the first time a foreign lawyers' delegation had been received by the Lao legal profession. Through this in-depth exchange initiative, T&H built a broad platform for cooperation between the legal professions of both countries, representing a resounding endorsement and practical implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative by Zhejiang's lawyers.

In his address at the ceremony, Director Wang Zheng noted that T&H has long adhered to the development philosophy of "co-creation, co-construction, and shared benefits" – a vision that aligns seamlessly with the Belt and Road principle of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits." Internally, T&H has strengthened its cohesion and core competitiveness through information technology, refined partnership mechanisms, specialized team-based practice models, lawyer advancement pathways, and resource-sharing frameworks, achieving shared creation in business, co-construction in institutions, and shared benefits in returns. Externally, T&H has established the e-Lawyer Alliance, which now brings together 58 law firms from ten Chinese provinces. Through a unified internet technology platform, alliance members leverage cross-regional and cross-specialization synergies to expand the horizons of legal services, penetrate both domestic and international markets, and realize a win-win scenario of connectivity and collective strength.

T&H's decision to establish a liaison office in Laos is a natural extension of its "co-creation, co-construction, and shared benefits" philosophy, and an inevitable step in the firm's collaborative growth with its alliance partners across China. Even more encouragingly, witnessed by the Ministry of Justice of the Lao PDR and the bar associations of both countries, CLX Lao-China Law Firm joined the e-Lawyer Alliance as its 59th member – and its first cross-border member – marking a significant milestone in the Alliance's ten-year strategic plan for internationalization.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing on May 14–15, 2017. China's Belt and Road Initiative has received an enthusiastic response from peoples across the countries along its routes. The China–Laos high-speed railway is currently under active construction and, upon its completion in 2020, will provide convenient transportation for bilateral economic cooperation. The close partnership between T&H and CLX will offer robust legal support for Chinese financial capital entering the Lao market, and will contribute valuable Chinese experience to the development of Laos's legal framework. With the guidance and support of the Ministry of Justice of the Lao PDR, T&H and CLX jointly proposed the establishment of the "China-Laos Belt and Road Legal Research Center" in Laos. The establishment of this center will facilitate the formulation and refinement of legal norms for the Belt and Road, promote the orderly progression of Belt and Road cooperation projects, and contribute to the development and improvement of dispute resolution mechanisms for Belt and Road trade.

The establishment of the T&H Laos Liaison Office and the strategic partnership between T&H and CLX carry profound significance – both for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and for the promotion of bilateral trade and legal cooperation between China and Laos. T&H will seize this opportunity, faithfully adhere to the spirit and principles of the strategic cooperation agreement, and work closely with CLX in a spirit of sincere collaboration, jointly committed to fostering mutually beneficial outcomes in lawyer-to-lawyer exchange, bilateral trade, and legal services between China and Laos.