For Chinese businesses entering the UK, legal planning is part of the deal: notes from the 2026 UK Investment Conference in Shanghai

On 15 September 2026 I attended the 2026 UK Investment Conference in Shanghai, organised by the China-Britain Business Council, with my colleague Chengwei Qi of Duan & Duan.

As a London-based partner of Duan & Duan UK LLP, a member of the Duan & Duan international network, whose roots are in Shanghai, I spend a good deal of time looking at the same cross-border issue from both directions: how Chinese businesses approach the UK, and how the UK legal and commercial system looks to investors coming from China.

In short

• For Chinese businesses entering the UK, legal questions are part of the investment strategy itself, not a formality after the commercial decision.
• Market entry raises immediate questions of structure, regulation, tax, employment, contracts, governance, dispute risk and, in some sectors, investment screening.
• The investments that go best bring in lawyers, tax advisers and banks early, before structures are fixed or contracts signed.

Legal questions are part of the investment strategy

One theme from the morning's discussions stood out. For Chinese businesses entering the UK, the legal questions are no longer peripheral to the investment decision. They are part of the investment strategy itself.

Market entry raises immediate questions:

• Corporate structure: a UK subsidiary, a branch, or a joint venture with a UK partner.
• Regulatory compliance: licences and rules specific to the sector.
• Tax: how the UK entity and its profits will be taxed, and how they interact with the group.
• Employment: contracts, employment law obligations and visas for staff moving to the UK.
• Contracting: English-law terms with customers, suppliers and distributors.
• Governance: directors' duties and how the UK entity is run and reports.
• Dispute risk: what happens if a deal goes wrong, and in which forum it will be resolved.
• Investment screening: in some sectors, increasingly complex foreign investment controls and regulatory scrutiny, including the UK's national security regime.

Not simply what English law says

The legal challenge is not simply to tell a client what English law says. It is to understand what the client is trying to achieve commercially, identify where assumptions formed in one market may not translate into another, and then build a structure that is legally robust, commercially workable and capable of supporting the business over the longer term. That is where genuinely cross-border legal advice becomes important.

The UK remains a sophisticated and attractive market for international investors, with a well-developed legal system, deep professional expertise and a strong commercial ecosystem. But entering a mature market also means navigating a mature regulatory environment. In my experience, the most successful investments are usually those where lawyers, tax advisers, banks and other professional advisers are brought into the process early: before structures are fixed, contracts are signed or problems emerge.

More than a legal translator

For an international network like Duan & Duan, this also changes the role we play. Our value should not simply be to act as a legal translator between jurisdictions. It is to help bridge different legal systems, commercial expectations and ways of doing business, and to give clients a clear route from commercial ambition to practical execution.

For a network with its roots in Shanghai and a presence that includes London, that China–UK bridge is a particularly important part of what we do. Our guide to establishing and operating a Chinese-owned business in the UK sets out the practical steps.

A thoughtful and productive morning, and a useful reminder that in cross-border investment, good legal planning is not something that follows the deal. It is part of the deal.

Frequently asked questions

What legal issues should a Chinese company consider before entering the UK market?

The main questions are corporate structure (subsidiary, branch or joint venture), regulatory compliance and licensing for the sector, tax, employment and immigration for staff, the terms of key commercial contracts, governance of the UK entity, dispute risk and how disputes will be resolved, and, in some sectors, the UK's national security screening of investments. They are best addressed before the structure is fixed and contracts are signed.

Does a Chinese investor need government approval to acquire a UK business?

In most cases no approval is needed. But under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, acquiring control of an entity active in certain sensitive sectors must be notified to the UK Government and approved before completion; a notifiable acquisition completed without approval is void. The Government can also call in other transactions that may raise national security concerns, so the question should be checked early.

When should a Chinese business bring in UK lawyers?

Early: before the corporate structure is fixed, contracts are signed or problems emerge. The most successful investments usually involve lawyers, tax advisers, banks and other professional advisers from the outset, working together, so that the structure supports the commercial plan rather than having to be unpicked later.

What does a cross-border law firm add beyond translation?

It identifies where assumptions formed in the Chinese market may not hold in the UK, explains the practical consequences in the client's own language and business terms, and builds a structure that is legally robust and commercially workable in both systems.