Can the deal move forward?
The team checks the product, buyer, owner, end user, destination, and planned use. It then sets out any licence, bank, customs, data, or ESG steps that must come first.
Cross-border Trade & ESG Compliance Team
Clear legal and compliance support for cross-border deals, payments, data, and supply chains.
Hiways Law Firm (Shanghai)
Legal service boundary
Hiways Law Firm (Shanghai) runs this team. Zhengdao AI can make the first introduction. Licensed lawyers give all legal advice.
Source note: this profile is based on 2026 practice materials. Please confirm current members and firm roles before you rely on it.
Direct answer
What this team helps you decide
This team helps companies decide whether a cross-border deal can move ahead. It checks the item, the parties, the purpose, the payment, the data, and the proof needed for the file.
What must we check?
Start with the facts. Confirm the goods or data, every party, the route, the flow of funds, and the business purpose. Then test the current rules and official lists.
What proof should we keep?
Keep the source rules, search results, contracts, invoices, shipping records, bank records, approvals, and review notes. The file should show who checked what and why the final choice was made.
When should we stop and ask for help?
Pause when facts are missing, a list hit is unclear, ownership is hidden, a licence may be needed, or a bank asks questions. A licensed lawyer gives legal advice where the matter calls for it.
Practice areas
Six practice areas
From item identification to customs declaration, building a provable transaction decision.
Export Controls & Economic Sanctions
Find the right control code for a product, software, or technology. Check the buyer, owner, end user, purpose, licence rules, and list hits. Add clear checks to the sales and shipping process.
Cross-border Payments & Bank Inquiries
Find out why a bank froze or returned a payment. Check whether a sanctions match is false. Prepare a clear record for AML, KYC, and bank questions.
Anti-corruption, Anti-money-laundering & Third-party Compliance
Check overseas partners, owners, agents, and unusual payments. Set clear contract terms, approval steps, and records for bribery and money-laundering risks.
Cross-border Data Flow Compliance
Map what data leaves China, where it goes, and who can use it. Check the transfer route. Draft the needed terms and controls.
Sustainable Supply Chain & ESG Risk Response
Check forced labour, worker rights, CBAM, and green trade rules. Turn each supply-chain request into facts, proof, owners, and repeatable checks.
Dispute Resolution & Crisis Management
Plan the response to a trade dispute or official inquiry. The team can support talks, court cases, arbitration, customs cases, and related criminal risk.
How we work
Make transactions explainable and documented
Ready to act
Manage risk at each step so the deal can move ahead.
Easy to explain
Explain the review in clear terms for banks, agencies, and business partners.
Backed by proof
Keep a written reason, source, and review record for each deal.
One set of facts
Use the same facts for official talks, appeals, and disputes.
Team members
People
Legal, finance, compliance, and enforcement backgrounds working together.
Liang Lijin
Senior Partner
Focus: Finance and funds; cross-border deals; transaction plans
Liang Lijin has practised law for more than 15 years. Liang holds an LL. M.
View profile →Zhao Jiangzhen
Attorney
Focus: Trade rules, ESG, and supply chains
Zhao Jiangzhen has more than 15 years of in-house legal and compliance work. Past employers include Unilever, GE, and Ford. Zhao holds a PRC lawyer qualification and CIPP/E certification.
View profile →Qian Ai
Senior Counsel
Focus: Cross-border payments, AML, and bank questions
Qian Ai has more than 25 years of work in banks and finance firms. Nearly 20 of those years were in team management. Past employers include Standard Chartered, ABN AMRO, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and DBS.
View profile →Yan Xiuhua
Senior Partner, Director of Beihai Office
Focus: Criminal defence; public enforcement; review and appeal cases
Yan Xiuhua is a Senior Partner and leads the Beihai Office of Hiways Law Firm (Shanghai). She became a lawyer after 30 years in public security. Her 36 years of work span public enforcement, review and appeal cases, criminal defence, and matters with both civil and criminal issues.
View profile →Cui Rongjia
Attorney
Focus: Criminal defence, evidence, and complex business crime cases
Cui Rongjia holds a bachelor's degree in Law from Shandong University. The work focuses on major and complex business crime and violent crime cases. Cui builds case plans around the facts, the chain of proof, and key legal steps from inquiry through trial and appeal.
View profile →Experience
Selected experience
Cases are anonymised and provided for illustrative purposes only; they do not represent a guarantee of similar outcomes.
U.S. UFLPA Import Review Response
Mapped the raw materials, suppliers, production steps, and trade route for a UFLPA review. Checked related parties and built a clear proof file. The file covered contracts, invoices, transport records, and production records.
ESG Disclosure Improvement for a Manufacturer
Helped prepare ESG reports and EcoVadis and CDP filings. Set clear data terms, proof needs, and follow-up steps.
Cross-border Data Flow Compliance
Mapped personal data, overseas systems, and supplier access. Set out the needed controls and contract terms.
Export Control Compliance Program Build-out
Helped a company set up trade control rules and work steps. The new process gave each deal a clear review record.
Chemical Enterprise Suspected of Evading Commodity Inspection
Reviewed intent, work steps, records, and later fixes in a commodity inspection case. The team prepared legal views for the review stage. The case ended without prosecution.
International Freight Forwarding Contract Arbitration
Reviewed the contract, the work done, the proof, and each party’s duty. Used those facts to defend the client in a cross-border freight case.
Major Investigation and Criminal Risk Management
Reviewed the facts, legal steps, and proof in major inquiries. Used that review to plan for case closure, no prosecution, a lower penalty, or support for a victim.
Corporate Anti-corruption and Internal Investigation
Improved rules on bribery, conflicts, and staff conduct. Checked third parties and ran internal inquiries. Turned the findings into new work steps.
North Asia Client Onboarding Compliance Framework
Helped North Asia teams use the same account and review forms. Improved name checks, risk hand-offs, audit fixes, and the three lines of defence.
Trade and Financial Crime Risk Processes
Mapped risks in trade services, trade finance, payments, foreign exchange, and customer checks. Turned the findings into clear process fixes.
Asset Management Products and Transaction Structures
Advised fund managers, insurance asset managers, and banks. The work covered fund set-up, product launches, investments, and deal plans.
Cross-border Payments and Bank Inquiries
Found the cause of frozen or returned payments and false sanctions hits. Prepared the deal facts, contracts, records, and flow-of-funds notes for the bank.
KYC / AML and Name Screening Remediation
Checked the customer, owners, deal purpose, and name hits. Improved approval hand-offs and ongoing checks.
Financial Institution Access and Product Issuance
Helped financial firms approve new partners and launch asset products. Aligned the deal papers with the needs of both the funding and business teams.
Connect with this team
To speak with this team, email [email protected]. Include the product or service, the parties, the countries involved, and the decision you need to make.
This page is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. See the full disclaimer。