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Yang ZHOU
Equity Partner / Shanghai
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Tel +86-21-6061-3666
Email zhouyang@zhonglun.com
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Practices
Cybersecurity & Data Protection, Cross-border Investment/M&A, Compliance & Investigation
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Industries
Telecommunications & Internet, Information & Intelligence Technology, Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences
Yang ZHOU
Yang Zhou has provided legal services to many well-known domestic and foreign companies and private equity funds in their investment, mergers and acquisitions activities in China. With many years of practical experience, Zhou has a deep understanding of the legal system, evolution and regulatory practices of FDI in China, providing clients with full legal services from foreign investment entry, daily operation to exit.
For more than 10 years, Mr. Zhou has been deeply engaged in the technology, telecommunications and Internet industries, providing one-stop legal services for clients to invest and operate data centers and digital platforms such as e-commerce, Internet content services, Internet of Things, Internet of vehicles, industrial Internet, Internet of Internet medical services in China.
Mr. Zhou is one of the earliest lawyers involved in the legal practice of cyber security and data compliance in China, and has long provided legal services for leading Internet enterprises, large state-owned enterprises, multinational corporations, etc. His services cover cyber security and data protection compliance audit and compliance system construction, data exit security assessment, personal information protection impact assessment, etc.
Representative Matters
CROSS-BORDER M&A, PE INVESTMENT AND GENERAL CORPORATE
Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Medical Services
Advised Cipla Limited (India) on the establishment and operation of a wholly foreign-owned pharmaceutical enterprise (market authorization holder) in China
Advised Cipla Limited (India) on the establishment and operation of a Sino-foreign joint venture pharmaceutical enterprise in China
Advised Hearing Lab Technology LLC (U.S.) on the establishment and operation of a wholly foreign-owned hearing device sales company in China
Advised HOYA (Japan) on the sale of equity interests in a domestic medical device enterprise
Advised Wuxi AppTech on its acquisition of a medical device company in China
Advised PAI Partners, a European private equity fund, on its acquisition of equity interests in a pharmaceutical company
Advised a famous biotechnology company on data compliance of Covid-19 antigen testing
Advised an investor on its acquisition of a domestic aged care and nursing facility
Manufacturing, Chemical, Automobile
Advised BlueScope (Australia) on its business operations in China (including the steel structure business of “LYSAGHT®" and “Butler®")
Advised Continental AG (Germany) on the restructuring of a joint venture in China
Advised Hercules (U.S.) on its acquisition of a fine chemical enterprise in Suzhou, China
Advised Martin Lord robotics company on its A-round financing from Tsing Capital
Advised Millipore (U.S.) on its acquisition of a water purification equipment enterprise in China
Advised PAI Partners, a European private equity fund, on its acquisition of equity interests in an aviation ground equipment manufacturer
Advised RWE (Germany) on its establishment and daily operation of a wholly foreign-owned enterprise for commodities and futures trading in China
Advised Sarlini Holding B.V. (Netherlands) on its acquisition of an apparel company in China
Advised Silberline (U.S.) on its acquisition of an aluminum silver starch/powder company in China
Advised SunSi Energies (U.S.) on its acquisition of a chemical trading company in China
Advised Webasto, a German automobile glass roof manufacturer, on its acquisition of a plant in China
Real Estate and Logistics
Advised Acorn International, a NYSE-listed company, on its sale of equity interests in an enterprise to Red Star Macalline
Advised DHL on its investment in a domestic logistics real estate project in China
Advised Equity International (U.S.) on its investment in Shanghai Jingrui Real Estate
Advised e-Shang, an Asia-leading logistics real estate developer, on its merger with Redwood
Advised Everbright Ashmore on the formation of an offshore China real estate private equity fund and on the fundraising
Advised Gemdale Group Wins Investment on its investments in a number of real estate projects in China
Advised Hines (U.S.) on its investment in and development of an apartment, hotel and shopping mall complex project in Dalian, China.
Advised ICBCI on its investment in The Lalu Hotel Limited on a hotel, serviced apartment and office building complex project in Nanjing, China
Advised Ivanhoe Cambridge (Canada) on its investment in an office building in China
Advised Red Star Macalline on the sale of a portfolio of logistics assets to Sino-Ocean Group
Advised Red Star Macalline on its development of homeware chain stores and commercial properties in Changchun, Chongqing, Dalian, Harbin, Shenyang, Ningbo, etc.
Advised SOHO China on its acquisition of the land parcel of Sichuan North Road Metro Station of Shanghai Metro Line 10 from CITIC Group
Advised Sunway Group (Malaysia) on the liquidation of its real estate joint venture in China
Advised Tyco Electronics on its subsidiary’s land replacement and plant relocation matters in China
Advised Warburg Pincus (U.S.) on its investments in a portfolio of wholesale market projects in China
Advised Warburg Pincus (U.S.) on its investments in e-Shang on a portfolio of logistics property projects and provided continued legal services for Shanghai e-Shang on its investments in, development and operation of logistics property projects in China
Advised Warburg Pincus (U.S.) on its investment in Mofang Chain Serviced Apartments
Outbound Investment
Advised Air Liquide on its supply of air liquefaction equipment to Argentina
Advised China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd. on legal environment investigations on the export of cigarettes and tobacco to certain countries
Advised a tobacco company on legal environment investigations on the export of innovative tobacco products to certain countries
Advised HLA on its establishment of companies and stores in North America and Europe
Advised ZTE on its outbound investment in a company listed in North America
Assisted a famous shipping group in the establishment of HK presences to carry out ocean shipping business
Other Corporate Practice
Advised an Internet sports events data service company on its equity financing and domestic and foreign restructuring
Advised a foreign institutional investor on its investment in an Internet sports events data service company
Advised a catering group on its domestic and foreign restructuring.
Advised Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities on several A-share IPO sponsorship projects
Advised a foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) on its presence in China
TELECOMS, CYBERSECURITY AND DATA PROTECTION
E-Commerce
Advised alibaba.com on its co-investment with KKR in daojia.com.
Advised a leading water heater manufacturer on the operation of websites, Apps, public accounts, mini-programs and other digital platforms as well as the integration of online and offline businesses
Advised ASOS.com, a UK online fashion platform, on the establishment of the local e-commerce platform in China and provided continued legal services for the operation of the platform
Advised dianping.com on the deconstruction of its VIE structure in respect of value-added telecoms compliance, and advised on its daily operation
Advised Decathlon (France) on its acquisition of a Sino-Japanese joint venture which conducts online sales of outdoor goods
Advised Decathlon (France) on its acquisition of a sports goods online sales company in Beijing
Advised farfetch.com, a European online luxury fashion platform, on its establishment and operation of the local e-commerce platform in China, including applying for the relevant value-added telecoms license and formulating safeguard measures for network and information security
Advised Florentia Village (Italy) on compliance plans and solutions for the establishment of online outlets for special sales and flash sales in China
Advised a leading Italian luxury fashion brand in opening the T-mall flagship store, official website flagship store and WeChat public account, including drafting transaction rules, privacy policy and terms of use, reviewing the entrusted e-commerce operation agreement, etc.
Advised a leading German textile and textile machine manufacturer on the establishment and operation of a B2B e-commerce platform, including advising on telecoms regulatory matters and formulating terms of use, transaction rules and privacy policy for the platform
Advised a famous Korean healthcare product and food company on the establishment of a cross-border e-commerce platform in China, including providing solutions for the contemplated cross-border e-commerce on value-added telecoms, customs, tax, logistics, and import and sale of food and drugs
Advised a foreign-invested joint venture online travel agency (OTA) in engaging in online booking services and Internet insurance brokerage business, including applying for a value-added telecoms license and formulating safeguard measures for network and information security
Internet Data Center (IDC), Cloud Computing
Advised a leading U.S. PE fund on its investment in a portfolio of Internet data centers in China, including providing solutions on the IDC project approval, value-added telecoms qualification and investment structuring
Advised a leading U.K. PE fund on its investment in an Internet data center project in China, including providing solutions on the IDC project approval, energy assessment, value-added telecoms qualification, investment structuring, etc.
Advised GDS on its acquisition of several Internet data centers in China, including providing solutions for the IDC project approval, energy assessment, value-added telecoms qualification, investment structuring, etc.
Advised Star Crest on its investment in an Internet data center project in China, including providing solutions for the IDC project approval, energy assessment, value-added telecoms qualification and investment structuring, and reviewed the server rack leasing agreement during the follow-up operation
Advised a leading U.S. PE fund on its investment in a portfolio of Internet data centers in China, including advising on IDC project approval, energy assessment, value-added telecoms qualification, deal structuring, server rack leasing agreements, ISP service agreements, cybersecurity and data compliance
Advised a leading consulting firm in providing various SaaS services in China regarding telecoms regulation, cybersecurity, IT deployment and data export
Advised a leading robotics company in providing SaaS and PaaS services in relation to selling home use and commercial use robots in China regarding telecoms regulation, cybersecurity, privacy protection and GDPR compliance
Advised a U.S. technology company in providing clinical trial SaaS products in China regarding telecoms regulation, cybersecurity, and data compliance
Advised a leading UK industrial internet company in providing SaaS, PaaS and digital twin products in China regarding telecoms regulation, cyber security, data security, personal information protection, etc.
Internet Content Services, International & Domestic Multi-party Communication, DNS, etc.
Advised one of the most famous import and export trade fairs in China in holding an online trade fair, including reviewing online agreements (terms of use, privacy policy, disclaimer, cookie policy, exhibition products uploading policy, etc.) and the technology cooperation agreement with the technical supplier
Advised chezhibao.com, an online second-hand car trading platform, on its restructuring and application for a joint venture value-added telecoms license (ICP license)
Advised a well-known real estate group on its life service App, including applying for value-added telecoms licenses, drafting platform rules and service agreements, formulating safeguard measures for network and information security, assisting in carrying out cybersecurity multi-level protection schemes, and providing legal support for the daily operation of the App
Assisted a leading consulting firm in providing Internet content services in China, including applying for a joint venture value-added telecoms license (ICP license) and formulating safeguard measures for network and information security
Advised a leading foreign exhibition and branding company on its establishment of an online platform for exhibition decoration business matchmaking and exhibition decoration process management in China, including applying for value-added telecoms licenses, advising on Internet financing compliance, and formulating platform rules and service agreements, etc.
Advised a world-leading multi-party telecoms service provider in providing international multi-party telecoms solutions and call center services in China in respect of cybersecurity, deployment of IT facilities and data protection, etc.
Advised a technology company on the development of a multi-party communication tool for remote office use from the telecoms regulatory perspective
Advised a foreign company in providing DNS services in China.
Advised a foreign company on its VPN connectivity with its subsidiary in China
Advised a Japanese company in holding light show art events in China via wireless equipment
Industrial Internet, Internet of Vehicles, Internet of Things
Advising Honeywell on industrial Internet matters
Advised a leading US large-scale medical equipment company on an industrial Internet project
Advised a leading diesel engine enterprise on an Internet of Vehicles project
Advised a luxury car brand on an electric vehicle charging piles service App, providing solutions in respect of value-added telecoms qualifications, map service, business model design, etc.
Advised a leading U.S. engineering equipment company on its e-commerce and IoT platforms in respect of cybersecurity and telecoms regulation
Advised a luxury car brand on the development of an Internet of Vehicles project including providing legal advice in respect of value-added telecoms qualifications and data compliance and providing legal service in formulating relevant platform agreements
Served as legal counsel for SAIC-GM (the joint venture of General Motors in China) on cybersecurity, data protection and telecoms matters
Advised an artificial intelligence IoT unicorn enterprise on its smart city projects in respect of cyber security and data compliance.
Advised a leading consulting firm on its smart office project from the perspectives of telecoms regulation and cybersecurity
Basic Telecoms and Civil Aviation
Advised a world leading aircraft manufacturer in providing critical information infrastructure services in China in respect of telecoms regulation, cybersecurity review, data security, data export, etc.
Advised a major airlines group on the establishment of a joint venture to provide critical information infrastructure services, including advising on civil aviation regulation, telecoms regulation, foreign investment security review, cybersecurity review, data export, personal information protection, GDPR compliance, etc.
Advised a major airlines group on the establishment of a joint venture to provide air-ground connectivity services in respect of telecoms regulation, cybersecurity, data security, business cooperation, state-owned assets administration, etc.
Advised a major airlines group on the procurement of air-ground connectivity services from a basic telecoms operator
Advised a Japanese airlines company on the collection and use of Chinese passengers’ personal information and cross-border data transfer
Cybersecurity, Data Governance, GDPR
Has provided ongoing legal services for a top Internet company, including conducting data compliance assessments, revising its privacy policies and user service agreements for its products, conducting data export security assessments and privacy impact assessments, etc.
Has provided ongoing legal services for a top Internet company, including legal services for its cloud and intelligence business in respect of telecoms regulation, cybersecurity and data security.
Advised a leading U.S. human resources tech company in providing SaaS services in China in respect of cybersecurity, cross-border data transfer, privacy policy, cybersecurity and information protection policies
Advised an Internet tax service platform in respect of telecoms regulation, cybersecurity, privacy protection, user service agreements, service agreements with Internet sharing economy platforms, electronic signature, etc.
Advised a leading German industrial product and household electrical appliance company on the localization of its global privacy policy.
Advised a leading French luxury fashion brand on cross-border data transfer and privacy policy
Advised a Hong Kong luxury hotel brand on its online platforms (its WeChat public account, mini-program, and website) in respect of telecoms regulation and data compliance
Advised a French luxury hotel brand on privacy policy, children privacy protection, inter-group company data transfer, etc.
Advised an international luxury hotel brand on its online platforms in China (its website, mini-program, and public account) in respect of data compliance
Advised a famous P2P online lending platform on the procurement of cybersecurity services, third-party credit rating services, network application optimization services and cybersecurity testing services
Advised a leading U.S. hearing aid company on the collection of personal health information, cross-border data transfer, privacy policy, communication, Internet access and deployment of IT facilities in China
Advised a British Fin-tech company in providing supply chain financing in China regarding cyber security, cross-border data transfer, server deployment, data compliance, etc.
Advised a British Fin-tech company in providing international trade supply chain financing in China regarding telecoms regulation, cyber security and cross-border data transfer
Advised a Fortune 500 German energy group on the use of data crawler technology and computer encryption products
Advised a leading Christmas ornaments manufacturing group on cross-border data transfer for a US patent litigation
Advised a well-known domestic communication equipment company on GDPR compliance for its operations in the European Union
Cybersecurity Compliance Audit
Conducted a gap analysis for a large foreign-invested real estate group (covering golf courses, hotels, apartments, shopping malls, smart cities, etc.) regarding cybersecurity and personal information protection, advised on cross-border data transfer, network multi-level protection scheme, internal company rules and polices, governance structure, personal information protection, content management, and telecoms regulation on the digital tools, and assisted in remediation actions
Conducted a gap analysis for a leading German textile and textile machine manufacturer on its cybersecurity and personal information protection conditions, advised on network multi-level protection scheme, cross-border data transfer, server deployment, employee personal information protection, etc., and assisted in remediation actions
Conducted a cybersecurity and data protection compliance audit for a world-leading homeware retail company and provided solutions on cross-border data transfer, network multi-level protection scheme, content management, data center deployment, etc.
Conducted a cybersecurity and data protection compliance audit for a world-leading homeware design, manufacturing and wholesale company and provided solutions on network multi-level protection scheme, personal information protection, cross-border data transfer, content management, e-commerce, etc.
Conducted a cybersecurity and data protection compliance audit for a leading U.S. tech company in providing mobile advertisement trading platform services in China and provided solutions on data collection, server deployment, cross-border data transfer, etc.
Conducted a cybersecurity compliance audit for a famous European fashion brand for its China entities and provided solutions on network multi-level protection scheme, personal information protection, content management, cross-border data transfer, data center deployment, etc.
Emergency Handling of Cybersecurity Incidents
Advised a foreign invested fine chemical company on the emergency handling of a data leakage incident and the follow-up cybersecurity compliance audit
Advised an e-commerce platform on the emergency handling of a data leakage incident
REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE
Advised Golden Jaguar Group on the issuance of single-purpose prepaid card
Advised an auto parts enterprise on its internal anti-corruption investigation in China
Advised an automobile tire enterprise on its responding to and handling of the anti-unfair competition investigation carried out by the Administration for Industry and Commerce in China.
Advised an auto parts enterprise on its product recall and insurance claims
Advised a U.S. company on its responding to and handling of its competitor’s disparaging advertising against the U.S. company’s products in China
Advised a U.S. auto parts manufacturing enterprise on its responding to and handling of the environmental compliance investigation in China
Advised a European healthcare products enterprise in investigating and handling the violation of non-compete obligations by its senior staff in China
Advised a Fortune Global 500 company in formulating hospitality policies and dawn raid policies
Advised a Fortune Global 500 German company in formulating a dawn raid policy
Publications
“China issues new foreign investment security review measures”, International Bar Association Technology Law Committee Newsletter, June 24, 2021
“Approaching Internet Data Centers | The Chapter on Energy Consumption”, Thomson Reuters Legal Community, November 9, 2020
“Approaching Internet Data Centers | The Chapter on Telecommunication and Investment”, Thomson Reuters Legal Community, September 8, 2020
“Approaching Internet Data Centers | The Chapter on the Basics”, Thomson Reuters Legal Community, June 24, 2020
“The Measures for Cybersecurity Review Enhance Supply Chain Security for Critical Information Infrastructure”, Thomson Reuters Legal Community, June 8, 2020
“Regulation of Telecommunications Sector in China”, Practical Law UK Practice Note, Thomson Reuters, July 2020
“Regulation of Internet Content Services in China”, Practical Law UK Practice Note, Thomson Reuters, July 2020
“China issued cybersecurity review measures to protect supply chain security”, International Bar Association Technology Law Committee Newsletter, July 6, 2020
“Cybersecurity concerns arising from China’s new Securities Law”, International Bar Association Technology Law Committee Newsletter, March 6, 2020
“Brief Analysis on Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection of Medical Big Data”, Information Security and Communications Confidentiality, Issue No. 9, 2017
“Annual Review on TMT Industry in 2016 – Bracing for TMT Changes”, China Law and Practice, January 2017
Related
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Articles Related
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Deals Related
Zhong Lun Assisted Giant Indian Pharma Company Cipla in Landing in China
Zhong Lun has provided full legal services for Cipla in setting up the China headquarters and joint venture.
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Events Related
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Awards Related
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2024-08-02
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Bar Admissions/Professional Qualifications
PRC Bar
New York State Bar -
Education
LL.M., University of Washington School of Law
LL.M., Nanjing University School of Law
LL.B, Nanjing University School of Law -
Professional Experience
Partner, Zhong Lun Law Firm, Shanghai Office
International Associate, Baker & McKenzie LLP, Shanghai Office
Observer, SEC, Division of Corporate Finance, D.C.
Legal consultant, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Shanghai Office -
Languages
Chinese
English