Despite ongoing strains in U.S.-China relations over the past year, deal activity has painted a different picture. According to multiple industry reports, 2024 was a record-breaking year for Chinese initial public offerings (IPOs) in the U.S., with 64 listings completed. The momentum carried into 2025, as January alone saw 12 Chinese companies debut on U.S. exchanges, accounting for 41 percent of all IPOs in the U.S. market that month. While listing activity remains robust, public perception of the U.S. IPO market has been relatively muted largely due to the modest fundraising scale of most deals. In 2024, aside from high-profile IPOs such as Amer Sports, Zeekr, and Pony.ai, over 50 percent of Chinese listings raised only $5 million to $10 million, failing to generate significant market buzz. In tandem with this trend, an intriguing shift is unfolding in the legal advisory space. The roster of law firms involved in Chinese IPOs is becoming increasingly diverse, with a rising number of small and regional firms entering the market. Among Chinese counsel, Wuxi-based Jiangsu Junjin Law Firm and Shenzhen-based China Commercial Law Firm ranked among the top five in deal volume. Junjin completed four IPO projects in 2024 and has five more in the pipeline, while China Commercial also handled four deals, with one additional public filing. In total, at least 30 different Chinese law firms are currently engaged in IPO-related filings. Notably, Beijing-based Docvit Law Firm is emerging as a rising player—despite handling only one U.S. IPO last year, it has already filed for four upcoming listings. On the U.S. side, the legal market is also diversifying, with mid-sized firms dominating Chinese IPO deals. New York-based Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li (HTFL), a firm with fewer than 40 attorneys, participated in 12 transactions in 2024. Another New York firm, Ortoli Rosenstadt, founded in 2006, was involved in 10 deals over the same period. Zhang Ting, head of international business at Docvit Law Firm, is a key figure behind the firm’s expansion into U.S. IPO advisory. In 2024, Zhang led her team in completing the Nasdaq listing of Eshallgo Inc., a Shanghai-based office equipment leasing company. ‘Although it was just one deal, it was highly representative—it was the first company using a VIE structure to secure approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) before listing in the U.S.,’ Zhang notes. Docvit currently has four publicly disclosed U.S. IPO projects in progress, but Zhang reveals that many more remain under wraps. ‘Our overall pipeline looks strong,’ she says. Discussing the factors driving this wave of listings, Zhang points to the issuers’ financing needs, investors’ exit strategies, and continued bottlenecks in the A-share listing process as the primary reasons pushing more Chinese firms — including small and mid-sized ones — to seek IPOs in the well-established U.S. market. However, another, less obvious driver is also at play. ‘An increasing number of Chinese entrepreneurs are looking to list in the U.S. not just for corporate financing or expansion, but also for personal cross-border asset allocation,’ Zhang explains. ‘Through red-chip structures, some of their assets can be converted into overseas stocks or holdings.’ Trust services have long been a core strength of Docvit. ‘We’ve handled numerous trust arrangements for controlling shareholders of U.S.-listed Chinese companies,’ Zhang tells ALB. Through this work, her team identified a rising demand for personal cross-border asset planning among entrepreneurs. Compared to traditional family wealth lawyers, who focus on estate planning and debt protection, capital markets lawyers can integrate trust structures with IPO planning, such as structuring shareholdings in line with disclosure requirements. ‘In recent years, we’ve emphasised this unique aspect of our services in marketing our U.S. IPO practice,’ says Zhang. ‘This strategy has helped Docvit secure a significant share of the market.’ As the landscape of legal advisory firms serving U.S. IPOs continues to diversify, Zhang acknowledges a similar trend. However, she attributes this shift primarily to the unique nature of U.S. listings. ‘The U.S. market follows a disclosure-based regulatory framework, making the process relatively less demanding. Unlike A-share IPOs, which require lawyers to be deeply involved on-site for extended periods, the primary role of legal counsel in U.S. listings is to design the transaction structure,’ she explains. Another key distinction lies in market recognition. ‘While law firm brand carries significant weight in A-share IPOs, the U.S. SEC and attorneys tend to place more emphasis on individual lawyers’ reputations,’ Zhang notes. In reality, the circle of lawyers specialising in U.S. listings is quite small. While new mid-sized and boutique firms continue to enter the market, the key partners behind them remain largely unchanged. This fluidity is primarily driven by the movement of individual practitioners. Zhang herself exemplifies this trend—having started her career in overseas listings at a major firm around 2005, she later joined Docvit, helping establish its U.S. IPO practice under a new brand. The same dynamic applies to U.S. law firms that have long served Chinese issuers, particularly small and mid-cap Chinese IPOs. ‘The circle is tightknit. Some of the U.S. attorneys we frequently collaborate with today are people I first met back in 2006, when we were all junior lawyers. Over time, we have grown into team leaders,’ Zhang reflects.

THE BRIEFS: Chinese IPO Surge in u.s. Market Defies Political Tensions

In 2024, despite tensions in U.S.-China relations, Chinese companies continued to list on U.S. exchanges, with 64 IPOs completed that year. January 2025 saw 12 Chinese companies debut on U.S. exchanges, accounting for 41% of all IPOs in the U.S. that month. Most of these IPOs raised modest funds, under $10 million, leading to a subdued public perception of the U.S. IPO market. Legal advisory firms, particularly small and regional ones, are diversifying, with Wuxi-based Jiangsu Junjin Law Firm and Shenzhen-based China Commercial Law Firm among the top five in deal volume. Beijing-based Docvit Law Firm is also emerging as a rising player.