Summary: Jiao Liang, partner at Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm, is one of the co-authors of the China chapter of Chambers Global Practice Guides: Technology M&A 2026. The chapter examines China’s tech M&A landscape — from “hard tech” deal recovery and policy-driven restructuring, to national security review, data compliance and AI governance, and antitrust scrutiny of platform deals. Read the full chapter on the Chambers website.

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Featured in Chambers & Partners

Chambers and Partners is the world’s leading independent legal research and ranking organization. Its Global Practice Guides are written by top-ranked lawyers in each jurisdiction and read by corporate counsel, investors and law firms worldwide.

Jiao Liang was invited to join the author team of the China chapter of Chambers Global Practice Guides: Technology M&A 2026 (last updated December 11, 2025), contributing to the Trends and Developments section. The chapter provides a systematic, practice-oriented analysis of China’s technology M&A market for an international audience.

📄 Read the full chapter on the Chambers website

Co-authors: Harvey Yan, Cao Ying, Annie R. Wong and Jiao Liang (Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm).

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What the Chapter Covers

China’s technology M&A market is entering a new cycle — moving “from adjustment toward structural recovery.” The chapter walks through the macro picture and then drills into execution, covering five areas that matter most to investors and acquirers:

1. Market Structure: “Hard Tech” Leads the Recovery

M&A activity in 2024 remained in an adjustment phase, yet technology stayed one of the few sectors with consistently high activity. Since late 2024, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics and enterprise software — the “hard tech” cluster — have shown clear signs of recovery. Domestic strategic acquisitions are rising, while Chinese buyers remain cautious about outbound control deals in sensitive technologies, preferring minority stakes, joint ventures or greenfield investment.

2. Policy & Regulatory Direction

The chapter analyses China’s “encouraging M&A restructuring, serving new quality productive forces” policy framework, and how changes in capital market M&A tools and disclosure rules affect deal pricing, payment instruments and transaction structure choices.

3. National Security & Cross-Border Review

Foreign investment security review in sensitive technology sectors is becoming more refined and penetrating, while overseas restrictions on Chinese investment also reshape funding structures and deal terms. Red-chip returns, backdoor listings and cross-border data flows face heightened compliance requirements.

4. Data Compliance & AI Governance

Cross-border data transfer rules, personal information compliance, algorithmic and generative AI requirements are moving “from back-office compliance to front-end structural variables” — directly affecting due diligence scope, closing conditions, integration plans and valuation mechanisms.

5. Antitrust & Platform Economy Regulation

Concentration review in the tech sector now extends beyond traditional price analysis to data control, innovation impact and ecosystem competition. Transactions in platform economies and data-intensive M&A face more proactive substantive review — making pre-transaction assessment and remedy planning essential.

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Why This Matters for International Clients

For foreign companies and investors acquiring or investing in Chinese technology businesses, this chapter offers a practical map of the current regulatory terrain:

• Timing: which sectors are seeing recovery, and where the deal flow is
• Structure: onshore LLC vs. red-chip/VIE structures — and when a VIE may no longer be necessary
• Approvals: national security review, antitrust filing, overseas listing filing, and data security assessment
• Execution: due diligence scope, closing conditions and integration planning in a data-and-AI-sensitive environment

The full chapter includes a separate “Law and Practice” section with detailed procedural guidance. Jiao Liang and the team at Zhongyin Law Firm regularly advise international clients on technology M&A, cross-border investment and related dispute resolution.

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About Jiao Liang

Jiao Liang is a partner at Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm (founded 1993, one of China’s largest and oldest partnership law firms, with 3,000+ lawyers and a nationwide network). He focuses on commercial disputes, private equity, M&A and compliance, with international client experience advising companies including Apple Inc., IHG and LEE. He serves as an arbitrator at the Weihai Arbitration Commission and the Beihai Arbitration Commission, and advises clients in both Chinese and English.