Vivian Cao will join the firm’s competition practice in their newly established Beijing branch, while corporate M&A practitioner Colette Pan will be based in the firm’s Shanghai office, to supplement the firm’s offerings in Beijing and Shanghai.

China market

Ms Cao, who is qualified in both PRC and New York State, has been a partner with Fangda Partners since 2017. Ms Pan had been a partner at Fangda Partners since 2018. Eric Liu, managing partner of Zhao Sheng, said “Vivian is a well-recognised competition lawyer in China with both Chinese and international exposure. Following the opening of our Beijing office in May this year, Vivian joining us further demonstrates our long-term commitment to the China market and our clients. Colette had spent more than 10 years with our joint operation partner, Linklaters, following her graduation. As a recognised practitioner in the financial institutions M&A space, she will further strengthen our capabilities in this area and help us continue to advise both our international and Chinese clients to seize the opportunities arising from the recent opening up of the financial sectors.”

Welcome back

Christian Ahlborn, global head of Linklaters’ competition practice said “Vivian Cao is a stellar addition to the joint operation of Zhao Sheng and Linklaters. Vivian comes with a wealth of international and domestic competition law experience and will work hand in glove with the Linklaters Beijing competition team under the proven leadership of Fay Zhou.” William Liu, China managing partner of Linklaters said, “We are thrilled to welcome Colette Pan back to the Linklaters’ global network. As well as being an extraordinarily capable team member who will significantly strengthen our corporate and regulatory coverage in mainland China at a time when the market is seeing a significant uptick in international work, she was an extremely popular and key member of our senior Shanghai team.” He added, “We believe the Chinese government’s opening up of international financial markets is an ongoing trend likely only to accelerate over the coming years.”