Peter Jiang

Peter Jiang is an attorney and Senior Partner of C&M Law (China) Office, which has bases in both Beijing and Shanghai.

He was one of the pioneers of private practice in China, and was one of the first non-State-affiliated attorneys in the country when such practices were finally allowed on a trial basis in 1992.

C&M stands for Commercial & Maritime, and indeed these are two of Peter’s main areas of expertise – as he offers rich expertise in representing shippers, carriers, charterers, freight forwarders and other players in this sector before the Chinese courts, as well as arbitral tribunals.

Meanwhile, C&M offer services in arbitration & litigation, aviation, corporate, import-export and IP law, among other areas. In all such matters, Peter’s specialty is the representation of foreign clients in China, and as such, he is renowned for being an invaluable resource.

To date, he has handled more than 1,580 international cases, in areas spanning: shipping & maritime, international dispute resolution, international trade & direct investment, corporate legal risk management & audit (compliance), Chinese culture consultant, legal research, international franchising, IP rights protection, real estate and tax, among others.

His additional roles include: residing on the Expert Committee on Civil & Administrative Cases of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China; member of the Constitutional Law & Human Rights Law Commission of All China Lawyers Association; member of the WTO Work Group of All China Lawyers Association; member of the Maritime Law Commission of All China Lawyers Association; Mediator of China International Mediation Center; council member of China Maritime Law Association; member of the Beijing Intellectual Property Association; member of the Chain-store & Franchise Association of China; as well as charter member of the Congress of Fellows of the Center for International Legal Study.

Peter is also well-known for his legal activism, as well as his efforts towards liberalisation. He noted: “Considering the deep impact of ancient deities on the modern lives and those religions derived from said deities, I have devoted much time to studying the meaning of the major myths – including the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Greece, Roman, Egyptian, Hebrew, Indian, Persian and Chinese texts. Our modern lives are based on the protection of national laws and religious laws derived from various cultures. However, people die, and so will their laws. For this reason, I encourage clients to compromise in dealing with their disputes – in order to avoid a situation wherein a judge’s mistaken decision inflicts further damage. In these instances, the law protects the bad rather than the good – and it is wiser to acknowledge and accept that all beings are the same when they are in pain.”