Zhiheng News | Chancheng District Economic and Science and Technology Promotion Bureau, Foshan Service Trade and Outsourcing Association visited Zhiheng Foshan Law Firm for investigation!
This morning, Qi Shanshan, Head of the Foreign Investment Division of the Zen District Bureau of Economy and Technology Promotion, and Yao Chuyan, Head of the Compliance Division, together with Hao Zelin, Executive President of the Foshan Service Trade and Outsourcing Association, Secretary-General Liu Yanqin, and Service Manager Li Xiaobo, paid a visit to Zhiheng (Foshan) Law Firm to conduct a research and guidance session on the theme of “Surveying the Work of Establishing a National Demonstration Zone for Innovative Development of Service Trade.”
Dong Wei, Executive Director of Zhiheng in Foshan, along with partners Huang Yingping, Liao Shuting, and Liang Xiaoling, warmly welcomed the guests and participated in the exchange. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on service trade policies, law firm business strategies, and avenues for public–private cooperation, jointly exploring new pathways for legal services to support Foshan’s manufacturing sector in expanding overseas.
Policy Direct Access: The Establishment of National Service Trade Demonstration Zones Brings New Opportunities
At the outset of the symposium, Hao Zelin, Executive President of the Foshan Service Trade and Outsourcing Association, along with Secretary-General Liu Yanqin and Service Manager Li Xiaobo, provided a comprehensive overview of the foundational rules governing service trade and the local support policies in Foshan. Legal services fall under the “Other Business Services” category within the 12-service classification of trade in services, and in offshore service outsourcing, they are classified as BPO—business process outsourcing.
Hao Zelin, Executive President of the Foshan Service Trade and Outsourcing Association
In 2025, China’s total imports and exports of services exceeded RMB 8 trillion, maintaining its position among the world’s leading nations. In January of this year, the Ministry of Commerce updated the classification standards for trade in services, further signaling the direction of service trade development. Foshan launched its application to become a national demonstration zone for the innovative development of service trade in April this year and officially received approval in August, becoming one of the latest pilot cities in the Pearl River Delta.
Foshan’s initiative to establish a demonstration zone will center on the core characteristic of manufacturing servitization, deeply leveraging its two trillion-yuan industrial clusters—general home furnishings and equipment manufacturing—while focusing on six key service sectors to become a benchmark city for cross-border business incubation. Clear phased objectives: an average annual growth rate of 6% in the total value of trade in services, and the establishment of 3–5 specialized service trade clusters along with a number of specialized service export bases.
The six key tasks—covering the integration of two industries, tiered enterprise development, institutional openness, optimization of service systems, international economic and trade cooperation, and legal‑system support—have created a policy framework that enables legal services to play a more substantial role in the development of the services trade.
Zhiheng Foshan: Its global network and integration capabilities in law and business have garnered attention.
At the symposium, Dong Wei, Executive Director of Zhiheng Foshan, presented the global service network and business layout of both the head office and the Foshan branch. Zhiheng has currently established a presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.In the area of Sino‑U.S. joint ventures, Zhiheng and the U.S.-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw have established Guangdong Province’s first Sino‑U.S. joint venture law firm in Shenzhen’s Qianhai.
Dong Wei, Executive Director of Zhiheng Foshan
At present, the Foshan branch offers end-to-end intellectual property services, cross-border trade legal services, financial legal services, and specialized services for the healthcare industry, with its international practice steadily gaining momentum. At the same time, leveraging the professional collaboration of over 1,700 lawyers within the firm’s network and the lead generation efforts of the headquarters’ business development department, we provide young lawyers with a solid foundation of case sources through collaborative public‑source referrals.
Government-Enterprise Collaboration: End-to-End Support from Policy Application to Global Expansion
During the concluding remarks, Section Chief Qi Shanshan and Section Chief Yao Chuyan expressed their hope to invite Zhiheng Foshan to participate in various symposiums for foreign-invested enterprises and sharing sessions for foreign trade companies, so as to provide tailored legal services to local foreign-invested and foreign trade enterprises.
Section Chief Qi Shanshan
Chief Yao Chuyan
At present, the supply of foreign-related legal services in Foshan still lags behind the needs of enterprises expanding overseas, and there is an urgent need to establish regular channels for coordination among government agencies, law firms, and businesses.To this end, both parties have agreed to deepen cooperation in three key areas going forward:First, we will launch a series of “Bringing the Law to Enterprises” activities. Second, we will develop targeted service products to support industries going global. Third, we will build a cross-sector service ecosystem.
During the symposium, Association Executive President Hao Zelin also pointed out: “For enterprises, it’s not who provides the services that matters; what matters is whether those services can help companies avoid pitfalls and enable them to make a profit.” This assessment provides the core criteria for developing and implementing practical overseas expansion services.
Going forward, Zhiheng Foshan will take this research visit as an opportunity to fully leverage the global network advantages of its headquarters and its integrated legal‑business service capabilities. It will actively participate in the development of the Foshan National Demonstration Zone for Innovative Development of Service Trade, continuing to strengthen its efforts in areas such as foreign-related legal services, cross‑border compliance for enterprises, and intellectual property protection. Working hand in hand with the government, industry associations, and various institutions, Zhiheng Foshan will contribute its professional legal expertise to support the international expansion of Foshan’s manufacturing sector and the high‑quality development of service trade.
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