China’s top law firms poach partners from US rivals

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. On today’s agenda:

• The growing ambition of Chinese law firms

• Israel is on the brink of a constitutional crisis

• Wang Chuanfu, the BYD founder with a battery obsession

China’s top law firms are hiring more senior lawyers from international rivals as western law firms scale back their presence in Hong Kong and China following a slowdown in financial activity.

More than a dozen US law firms such as Latham & Watkins, Sidley Austin and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have closed offices in Beijing or Shanghai in recent months as M&A and capital markets work dried up in China.

This has presented an opportunity for the biggest and top-grossing Chinese law firms — known as the “red circle”. They are increasingly looking for business outside of the mainland, including in Hong Kong, helped by big-name hires and aggressive fees, sometimes more than half that of western rivals.

Over the past year, Chinese legal firms have recruited at least 14 senior lawyers and partners from their US and UK counterparts, including Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Hastings, recruiters and lawyers say, some bringing their team with them. Most are based in Hong Kong and focus on capital markets or finance.

Read why partners are moving to Chinese firms — and what the trend says about the Hong Kong market.

• China Development Forum: Premier Li Qiang told attendees of the key business conference that Beijing was ready for any “unexpected shocks”, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s imposing higher tariffs on the Chinese economy.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Singapore reports February CPI inflation figures.

• War in Ukraine: The US and Russia hold talks in Saudi Arabia over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a day after American and Ukrainian negotiators met.

• South Korea: The Constitutional Court will rule on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment after he was suspended as acting president last year. (Reuters)

• Japan-Brazil ties: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrives in Tokyo for a state visit.

Five more top stories

1. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday announced a national election would be held on April 28 as the country faced “the most significant crisis of our lifetime” caused by Trump. The US president’s threats of annexation and punitive tariffs have boosted the popularity of Carney’s Liberal party.

2. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has stepped up efforts to oust the attorney-general, intensifying a bitter feud with Israel’s legal authorities. The cabinet yesterday unanimously backed a motion of no confidence against Gali Baharav-Miara, the country’s most senior legal official who is a key check on government power. The unprecedented move has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis.

3. International carmakers are rushing to ship vehicles and core components to the US to get ahead of the next round of Trump’s tariffs. Car-carrying vessels have been dispatched to Asia and Europe amid plans to carry “thousands” more vehicles than usual to the US, according to industry officials.

4. National Grid’s chief executive has insisted the electricity transmission network remained capable of feeding enough power to Heathrow throughout the airport’s closure last week, as airlines’ anger over the decision to shut down for nearly 24 hours grew. John Pettigrew told the FT that while an “unprecedented” blaze knocked out the North Hyde substation, two others serving Heathrow were working throughout the incident. Read the full interview.

5. A Turkish court formally arrested the main challenger to the country’s longtime leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, threatening to escalate a crisis that has ignited mass protests and financial turmoil. The arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu marks the first time under Erdoğan’s rule that such a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s party has been detained.

Person in the News

Last week, Chinese EV maker BYD unveiled a new charging system that could add about 470km in range to its vehicle’s batteries in just five minutes — a fraction of the time it takes a Tesla to add range. For Wang Chuanfu, the Shenzhen-based group’s billionaire founder, this achievement takes him one step closer to his long-held vision of homegrown Chinese technology conquering the global market.

We’re also reading . . . 

• China spends big on its ageing pets: Only a decade after a modern pet industry emerged in the country, millions of cats and dogs are entering old age.

• Dating and AI: Columnist Jemima Kelly’s date used ChatGPT to compile a “psychological profile” of her. Is that OK?

• Can the dollar remain king?: The greenback’s dominance was forged on trade, alliances and institutions. Now that era is at risk of ending.

Chart of the day

Donald Trump’s policies have shattered Wall Street’s “American exceptionalism” trade. The fallout from the US president’s tariffs and uncertainty over the economic outlook and geopolitics have fuelled an unusually prolonged and deep twin sell-off in the dollar and equities.

Take a break from the news . . . 

The FT’s food and drink experts — Jay Rayner, Marina O’Loughlin, Jancis Robinson and Tim Hayward — have strong opinions on how to make the most of eating out in 2025. But when those views were sent to a panel of the world’s most esteemed food connoisseurs they were ripped to shreds.