Zhou Yuan is an equity partner of Jingtian & Gongcheng Law Firm. Mr Zhou graduated from Zhongnan University Of Economics & Law with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts degree, in addition to a Master of Laws degree from the University of Hertfordshire. Mr. Zhou is licensed as a lawyer in China and his working languages are Mandarin Chinese and English.

 

Mr. Zhou specializes in litigation and arbitration. During his practice, Mr. Zhou has represented the Supreme People's Court and the Provincial High Court in second-instance and retrial cases; and represented the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Shenzhen International Arbitration Court (SIAC), Shanghai International Arbitration Center (SIAC), and other arbitration institutions in commercial arbitration cases. Mr. Zhou Yuan has undertaken a number of major, difficult and complex commercial litigation and arbitration cases involving financial loans, construction projects, banking and finance, securities, real estate, financial leasing, culture and tourism, pharmaceuticals, international trade, investment and financing legal services and other industries and fields, and Mr. Zhou has extensive experience in resolving complex commercial disputes.

 

Mr. Zhou also has a good reputation in the field of litigation and arbitration. In 2024, he was selected as one of the "Top 15 Lawyers in Arbitration in China" and "Top Litigation Lawyers in China" by LEGALBAND, an international rating organization; in 2023, he was selected as one of the "A-List The Growth Drivers Elite Lawyers" by China Business Law Journal. Business Law Journal (China Business Law Journal) as A-List The Growth Drivers; in 2023, selected by the international rating agency LEGALBAND as "the top 15 Litigation Lawyers in China", selected by LEGALBAND as one of the top lawyers in the field of litigation, and selected by the international rating agency LAGALBAND as one of the top lawyers in the field of litigation. In 2023, he was selected as one of the top 15 litigation lawyers in China by LEGALBAND and one of the top lawyers in the field of litigation by LEGALBAND; in 2022, he was selected as one of the top 15 litigation lawyers in China by LEGALBAND and one of the top 15 litigation lawyers in China by LEGALBAND.

 

Mr. Zhou is currently an arbitrator of the Tianjin Arbitration Commission, an arbitrator of the Hainan International Arbitration Court, and a mediator of the International Commercial Mediation Center of the Hainan International Arbitration Court.

Arbitrator, China Maritime Arbitration Commission

Arbitrator, Shenzhen Court International Arbitration

Arbitrator, South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong)

Arbitrator, Tianjin Arbitration Commission

Arbitrator, Hainan International Arbitration Court

Mediator, Hainan International Arbitration Court International Mediation Center

Represented Hangzhou Bank Co., Ltd., Shanghai Branch in a financial loan contract dispute with Shanghai Jinghe Industrial Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Zhuyuan Enterprise Development Co., Ltd. with a subject matter of dispute of approximately RMB 1.2 billion before the Shanghai Financial Court, and obtained a judgment in favor of the case.

 

Represented Shanghai Honghua Industrial Co., Ltd. in handling a retrial case of civil private lending dispute amount exceeding 1 billion RMB, which was heard by the Supreme People's Court of P.R.C. After going through first-instance, retrial of first-instance, and second-instance procedures over a period of six years, the case ultimately achieved a comprehensive victorious judgment with a reversal in the retrial process through the effective representation by Mr Zhou’s team..

 

Represented one of the subsidiaries of a centralized enterprise in a contractual dispute between the first-tier subsidiaries of the two centralized enterprises in Shenzhen, with a subject matter of dispute of approximately RMB 500 million, which was heard by the Shenzhen International Arbitration Court, and obtained a comprehensive victory for client with a favorable ruling in the case.

 

Represented Wanhe Securities Co., Ltd. in a corporate bond trading dispute case with a subject matter of dispute of nearly RMB 60 million, which was heard by the High People's Court of Shanxi Province, and obtained a favorable judgment.

 

Represented a Hong Kong listed company in an international trade contract dispute with a German company in the amount of EUR 14.4 million before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and obtained a comprehensive victory for client with a favorable ruling in the case.

 

Represented more than 10 executives of listed companies in China in an arbitration case with a leading asset management company in China in relation to a fund contract dispute with a subject matter of RMB 140 million before the Shenzhen International Arbitration Court (SIAC), and obtained a favorable award.

"The Rational application of Parallel Litigation in Inter-District Civil and Commercial Dispute Resolution between the Mainland and Hong Kong", 2023

Brief Introduction：With the development of economy, arbitration has been accepted by more and more commercial subjects as one of the ways of dispute resolution. Therefore, parallel arbitration and litigation are not uncommon in inter-regional civil and commercial disputes between the Mainland and Hong Kong. This article tries to analyze the instrumental value of parallel litigation in inter-regional civil and commercial dispute resolution between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

 

"On the Construction of a Regional Arbitration Center in Mainland China", 2023

Brief Introduction：With the deepening of the degree of competition in the global arbitration services market, China's arbitration institutions of the geographical limitations of the disadvantages caused by more and more obvious, the establishment of regional arbitration centers is to break through the geographical limitations of the effective measures. In this paper, by sorting out the causes of geographical limitations of arbitration, combined with the actual situation in China, try to discuss the feasibility of building regional arbitration centers in China and put forward the path of conception.

 

"Expansion of the Effectiveness of Arbitration Agreements - From the Perspective of Arbitration Consent", 2023

Brief Introduction：Due to the arbitration agreement has the formality, independence, China's judicial practice on the special circumstances of the arbitration agreement can be expanded to the non-essential parties to the issue of disagreement, the court "the same case is different" situation is numerous. From this, this paper that should not be limited to the arbitration agreement formality, independence of the narrow understanding of the characteristics of the arbitration agreement, and should focus on the examination of the true meaning of the parties and determine whether the arbitration agreement, in order to safeguard the party's autonomy and legitimate rights and interests. Under certain circumstances, if the arbitration agreement of the non-essential parties has been externalized into specific behaviors, it should be included in the scope of the validity of the arbitration agreement and be given the right to choose arbitration as a means of dispute resolution.

 

"Analysis of the "Duty of Notification" of the Futures Broker’s Compulsory Close-out", 2022

Brief Introduction：Forced liquidation in futures trading refers to the right of the futures exchange or futures company to forcibly close out the position of a futures account holder on the premise that the account holder has not made a margin call in a timely manner. The elements of forcible closing of a position are summarized as: insufficient margin of the client, reasonable amount of closing the position, and proper notification by the futures company or futures exchange. Among them, the element of "proper notification", due to the lack of clear legal application standards such as the manner, time and reasonable limit of fulfillment of the notification obligation, has triggered endless debates in the academic circles and constant disputes in practice. This article clarifies the specific standards for futures companies to fulfill the notification obligation in the court's determination of forced liquidation of futures positions, and analyzes the methods for futures companies to set up notification clauses for forced liquidation of futures positions in futures contracts by combing through the relevant court judgments.

 

"In the Perspective of Multi-Jurisdictional Fields: Asymmetric Jurisdictional Effectiveness and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments", 2022

Brief Introduction：This article focuses on the effectiveness of asymmetric jurisdiction clauses and their application in a multi-jurisdictional environment. The article analyzes the practice of asymmetric jurisdiction clauses in the United Kingdom, China and Hong Kong, China, and is supported by specific cases. The article also discusses the effect of asymmetric jurisdiction in other jurisdictions and how to deal with the recognition and enforcement of judgments involving asymmetric jurisdiction.

 

"What is the path for asset preservation in Mainland-Hong Kong cross-jurisdictional disputes", 2022

Brief Introduction：In the course of the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area under the principle of "one country, two systems and three jurisdictions", cross-jurisdictional disputes have been increasing year by year. In order to protect the realization of rights, the parties have a realistic demand for the preservation of assets in both the Mainland and Hong Kong. Based on the provisions on judicial preservation in the Mainland, the Arrangement on Bilateral Assistance in Preservation, the High Court Ordinance of the Hong Kong SAR, and practice directions, this article combines the examples of asset preservation in the two places to clarify the operation path of asset preservation in the two places.

 

"Analysis and Recommendations on the asset preservation system of the Exposure Draft of the Arbitration Law", 2021

Brief Introduction：On July 30, 2021, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officially released the Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised) (“Exposure Draft”). In order to align with international arbitration standards, the “Exposure Draft” adds 19 articles to the current Arbitration Law and makes transformative revisions to many arbitration regimes. This article compares and briefly analyzes the current system of arbitration preservation and proposes amendments for discussion.

 

"Analyzing systemic risk in securities market misrepresentation cases", 2021

Brief Introduction：This article discusses the issue of systemic risk in misrepresentation cases in the securities market. The article firstly points out the negative impact of misrepresentation on the securities market and analyzes the controversy over the determination of systematic risk in the relevant judicial instruments, and then discusses in detail the definition and categorization of systematic risk, as well as how to prove the existence of systematic risk. The article also discusses how issuers of securities can adduce evidence to prove systemic risk and how courts will consider systemic risk in such cases.

 

"Analysis of Financial Institutions' Response to Civil-Criminal Cross-Disputes Arising from Employee Crimes", 2021

Brief Introduction：This article mainly analyzes how financial institutions should respond to civil and criminal cross-disputes arising from crimes committed by their employees. The article firstly points out that the financial industry is a high incidence of civil and criminal cross-disputes, and cites some relevant cases, focusing on two situations: firstly, in the criminal proceedings, financial institutions should fully cooperate with the judicial authorities; secondly, in the civil proceedings, financial institutions should strive for an effective defense both procedurally and substantively.

 

"Comparison of the old and new judicial interpretations of civil litigation retrial procedures", 2021

Brief Introduction：This article mainly analyzes the revision of the Supreme People's Court's judicial interpretation of civil litigation retrial procedures. The article firstly points out that the amendment mainly solves the problem of inconsistency between the citation of provisions in the old interpretation and the current civil procedure law, as well as the problem of duplication of part of the contents with the provisions of the current laws and judicial interpretations. The article also interprets the amendment from the perspective of purposeful interpretation.

 

"Special Circumstances in which a Guarantee Provided by a Company Remains Effective Without a Resolution - Explanation of Articles 8 and 10 of the Interpretation of the Guarantee System of the Civil Code", 2021

Brief Introduction：Although Article 16 of the Company Law stipulates that a guarantee provided by a company without a resolution is generally ineffective against the company, the Interpretation of the Security System of the Civil Code provides for four special cases in which a guarantee provided by a company is still effective even without a resolution. This article will analyze and discuss the understanding of the provisions, the application of the rules and the extension of the legal issues by combining the provisions of the four special cases with the relevant laws and regulations and the existing jurisprudence.

 

"Interpretation of the Proceedings of the Ninth National Court Working Conference on Civil and Commercial Trials of the Supreme People's Court VII: Legal Obstacles to the Dissolution of Equity Substitute Relationships", 2020

Brief Introduction：Based on the high incidence of litigation arising from the early termination of the escrow relationship in practice, the parties in such cases are prone to heated conflicts over whether the parties have the right to terminate arbitrarily, whether the actual contributor can demand the return of investment, whether the escrow agent can be replaced, and whether the nominal shareholder can demand to terminate the escrow relationship and step down from the position of the executives, this article  discusses the legal barriers to the termination of the escrow relationship from the practical point of view.

 

"Is "flight delay" gripping an insurance scam?", 2020

Brief Introduction：This article takes the specific case of a woman who made frequent claims through the purchase of airline tickets and airline delay insurance, gained substantial profits, and was subjected to criminal coercive measures taken by the police for the crime of insurance fraud as an entry point, analyzes whether the act constitutes insurance fraud, discusses the relevant provisions of the insurance law, the contract law and the criminal law, and points out that the act does not constitute a fraud under the law of contract, and that the evaluation of the criminal law shall not be applied either.