The Seminar on “China & Malaysia: Business Investment and International Arbitration” organized by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA), is being held on May 27, 2025 in SCIA Tower, Shenzhen. Ms. Mariana Zhong, partner of Huizhong Law Firm, will participate in the roundtable discussion on the topic of Enterprises Going Global:Risk Prevention and Cross-border DisputeResolution.

This is an exceptional opportunity to learn and connect with the arbitration and commercial communities from China and Malaysia. Please see the agenda below, we sincerely invite you to participate!

Mariana Zhong is a partner of Hui Zhong Law Firm based in Beijing. Before joining Hui Zhong in 2020, she was a partner of the international arbitration department of a top-tier international law firm, where she worked in the Beijing, Singapore, and Paris offices.  

Mariana specializes in dispute resolution matters including arbitration, litigation, and mediation, with a particular focus on foreign-related, cross-border and international arbitration seated in China and overseas. For commercial arbitration, she has handled many cases before arbitration institutions including ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, CIETAC, BAC, SHIAC, SCIA and ad hoc arbitrations seated abroad applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. For investor-State disputes arising under international treaties, Ms. Zhong previously represented two Chinese investors initiating an ICSID arbitration against a Southeast Asian State. Currently she is advising an investor in an ad hoc treaty arbitration against a State in Asia. Mariana also constantly provides treaty arbitration-related assessment and legal advice to Chinese and foreign investors.  

Mariana also represents Chinese and foreign clients in Chinese court proceedings, including enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, general commercial litigation, and pre-litigation/arbitration injunction proceedings. Ms. Zhong frequently advises foreign clients on Chinese law-related matters, and constantly provides support to foreign court/arbitration proceedings where Chinese law expert opinion was sought.

The most recent victory that Mariana achieved for her client include a successful injunction of a foreign owner’s call on the performance bond issued by a Chinese client and back-to-back injunction of the beneficiary bank’s call on the counter-guarantee, both bonds are worth over one hundred million US dollars. Mariana is currently representing the client in ad hoc arbitration seated abroad against the foreign owner, while the beneficiaries’ call on the guarantee and counter-guarantee are both frozen by injunction orders issued by the Chinese and foreign courts, respectively.

Mariana is also an arbitrator, a former affiliate research fellow of Harvard Law School, a former ICC YAF Representative for North Asia (2018-2020). She is appointed by Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) to the Organizing Committee (OC) of RIDW25 (Riyadh International Disputes Week 2025) and by Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) as the APAC Lead of YSIAC Council. Mariana also serves as an off-campus mentor to graduate students in China Foreign Affairs University.

Mariana is a frequent speaker at international arbitration-related seminars and conferences held home and abroad, and a diligent writer on topics relating to Chinese and international commercial and investment arbitration. Ms. Zhong constantly provides international arbitration-related lectures and trainings to prestigious law schools, local bar associations across China and legal departments of Chinese State-owned enterprises.

Starting from 2017, Mariana has been consecutively recognized by Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a “Next Generation Lawyer”. In 2021 and 2022, two cases handled by Ms. Zhong were selected as “Deals of the Year 2021” and “Deals of the Year 2022” by China Business Law Journal (CBLJ). In 2023, Ms. Zhong was awarded the “Rising Star 2023” by CBLJ. In the same year, Mariana was shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review (GAR) for “GAR 45 under 45”. In January 2024, Ms. Zhong was awarded the “A List 2023-2024: Growth Drivers” by CBLJ. In January 2025, Ms. Zhong was once again awarded the “A List 2024-2025: Growth Drivers” by CBLJ. In May 2025, Ms. Zhong was honored as “Future Star of International Arbitration” in Benchmark Litigation's 2025 Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution List.