Mariana Zhong

Introduction

Mariana Zhong is a partner of Hui Zhong Law Firm based in Beijing. Before joining Hui Zhong, 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.

Zhong specialises in dispute resolution matters including arbitration, litigation and mediation, with a particular focus on foreign-related arbitration seated in China and overseas. For commercial arbitration, she has handled dozens of cases before domestic and international arbitration institutions and ad hoc arbitrations seated abroad applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. For investor-state disputes arising under international treaties, Zhong previously represented two Chinese investors initiating an ICSID arbitration against a Southeast Asian state, and currently she is advising an investor in an ad hoc treaty arbitration against a state in Asia.

Zhong 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. Zhong frequently advises foreign clients on Chinese law-related matters, and she constantly provides support to foreign court/arbitration proceedings where Chinese law expert opinion is sought.

The most recent victory that Zhong 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 worth over USD100 million. Zhong is currently representing the client in ad hoc arbitration seated abroad against the foreign owner while the guarantees are frozen by injunction orders issued by courts of two jurisdictions.

Zhong is also an arbitrator, a former affiliate research fellow of Harvard Law School, a former ICC YAF representative for North Asia (2018-2020), and an executive member of the Committee of Beijing International Arbitration Forum (BIAF). Recently she was appointed by Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) to the Organising Committee of Riyadh International Disputes Week 2025 (RIDW25) and by Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as the APAC lead of YSIAC Council. Zhong also serves as an off-campus mentor to graduate students at China Foreign Affairs University.