Jingtian & Gongcheng officially opened its Ningbo office on 24 April, marking the firm’s 11th branch nationwide and its fourth in the Yangtze River Delta region, following Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou.
The Ningbo office is headed by Willard Wang, a partner previously based in the firm’s Shanghai office. He said the launch reflected the firm’s strategic shift from “coverage of first-tier cities” to a deeper focus on key economic belts.
Wang told China Business Law Journal: “The decision to establish a presence in Ningbo is aimed at creating a ‘Hangzhou–Ningbo’ dual-engine linkage. While the Hangzhou office is better positioned to serve the digital economy and innovation-driven capital, the Ningbo office can capture more opportunities arising from advanced manufacturing and cross-border expansion.
“Ningbo, as the economic centre of the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta and a key node in the international science and technology innovation corridor, boasts a strong manufacturing base and vibrant private capital. Demand for legal services in areas such as cross-border trade and intelligent manufacturing is also surging,” he added.
Zhao Yang, chairman of Jingtian & Gongcheng’s management committee, said at the opening ceremony that the Ningbo office would provide local enterprises with legal support in cross-border investment and financing, data compliance, intellectual property, high-end manufacturing and green transformation.
The new office has adopted a team-building model that combines secondment from headquarters with local recruitment. “This approach ensures consistency in Jingtian & Gongcheng’s professional standards and risk control systems, while enabling deep integration into the local business environment and the efficient alignment of professional capabilities with regional resources,” Wang said.
Wang focuses on capital markets, private equity and venture capital, fund formation and fundraising, and M&A. His past clients include CDH Investments, SIG Asia Investments, Source Code Capital, IDG Capital, Alibaba, Xiaomi, 360 and Huatai Securities.
The Ningbo office is located on the 45th floor of Ningbo Guohua Financial Tower at 1800 Zhongshan East Road in Yinzhou district, adjacent to the Ningbo municipal government offices.
