From September 1 to 2, 2025, Dentons’ newly appointed Global Chief Executive Officer Kate Barton, Global Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Glazer, and Hong Kong Office Managing Partner Keith Brandt visited Dacheng Beijing Office and Dacheng Shanghai Office. They held exchanges with Dacheng’s management team and a number of lawyers engaged in foreign-related practice. The visit coincided with the first anniversary of Ms. Barton’s appointment as Dentons’ Global CEO, creating a new opportunity for both sides to further deepen cooperation and friendship and to expand global business opportunities.

Management Team Meeting at Dacheng Beijing Office

At the management roundtable, Yuan Huazhi, Managing Partner and Chairman of Board, Dacheng Law Offices, extended a warm welcome to the Dentons delegation. Mr. Yuan noted that Dacheng successfully completed the transition of its management team in June this year, and that the new leadership will continue to uphold an open and cooperative philosophy and maintain a close and sound partnership with Dentons. Over the past decade, Dacheng and Dentons have supported each other and moved forward hand in hand, jointly witnessing profound changes in the legal services market in China and around the world, and achieving synergistic development and shared growth in the process. Looking ahead, Mr. Yuan expressed confidence in the broad prospects for cooperation and emphasized Dacheng’s willingness to deepen collaboration with Dentons and strive together for greater success.

Mr. Yuan Huazhi

Kate Barton shared Dentons’ recent global developments and strategic priorities. She said that Dentons attaches great importance to enhancing its cross-regional client service capabilities and will further improve the efficiency of global resource utilization through various measures, including talent exchanges, the application of artificial intelligence, client integration, and the identification of growth potential. China occupies an important position in Dentons’ global strategy, and Dentons will continue to deepen close cooperation with Dacheng to better serve the dual needs of Chinese enterprises going global and multinational companies entering the Chinese market.

Ms. Kate Barton

During the visit, Dentons representatives held business discussions with lawyers engaged in foreign-related practice at both Dacheng Beijing and Shanghai offices. The two sides conducted in-depth discussions on topics including changes in the global legal services market in recent years, business opportunities and the coordinated development of client relationships, the legal service needs of Chinese companies going global, China–U.S. trade and economic relations and the impact of U.S. tariff policies on cross-border business, as well as ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Business Exchanges with Foreign-Related Practice Teams

Management Team Meeting at Dacheng Shanghai Office

Foreign-Related Practice Roundtable at Dacheng Shanghai Office

Group Photo at Dacheng Shanghai Office

Against the backdrop of new challenges and opportunities facing globalization, Dacheng and Dentons further enhanced mutual trust and clarified the direction of their cooperation through face-to-face exchanges. Looking ahead, both sides will leverage their respective strengths in local markets and global networks to continue exploring multi-dimensional cooperation mechanisms in areas such as business collaboration, experience sharing, and talent development, jointly enhancing service capabilities and responsiveness to create greater value for clients.