Herbert Smith Freehills has announced a partnership with UNSW Law in Sydney to establish the Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre.
史密夫斐尔律师事务所宣布与悉尼新南威尔士大学法学院合作建立史密夫斐尔中国国际商业与经济法（CIBEL）中心。
The Centre will strengthen research and partnerships in international business and economic law relevant to China in the 21st century, and particularly to the Australia-China trading corridor.
The five-year partnership will contribute to the continued growth of the Centre through strategic hires, research programmes, publications, and ongoing joint education initiatives in Australia and China.
Established in 2015, the Centre in Sydney is home to the world’s largest cohort of Chinese law scholars outside of China. The initiative boasts a core group of five Chinese international economic law scholars in the areas of corporate and competition law, trade law, investment law, and financial law.
Herbert Smith Freehills’ Regional Managing Partner Andrew Pike said the firm’s support showed its commitment to bolstering its relationship with key Australian law schools as well as supporting greater legal collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region.
“As Australian business and society forms even closer bonds with China, initiatives such as the CIBEL Centre – which is at the forefront of research in this field – will become increasingly important to sustaining long-term and economically beneficial relationships between our two countries,” said Mr Pike. “We’re pleased that our partnership will assist the Centre's directors to realise its strategic direction over the next five years.”
In addition to the firm's pre-eminent position in the Australia legal market, the firm has more than 30 years' experience in China. It provides 'on-the-ground' expertise that understands the country's dynamic business environment through long-established offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
“Our team in China is already working with CIBEL and UNSW on projects with our clients, and looks forward to extending our work together,” said Asia Managing Partner Justin D’Agostino, who is also a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. “This partnership will add a new and exciting academic resource for our existing relationships with many of China's leading state-owned enterprises, private companies and educational institutions.”
“China is one of Australia’s most important trading partners. As a firm we are committed to ensuring we are best placed to serve our clients’ interests in the corridor, whether they or their projects are based in Australia, China or elsewhere. Investment in initiatives such as the CIBEL Centre significantly enhances our ability to do so.”
UNSW Law Dean, Professor George Williams AO, said: “We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with one of the world’s leading law firms. It positions CIBEL to lead the world on research into issues of vital importance to the economic prosperity of Australia and our region.”
CIBEL Centre co-directors Professor Deborah Healey and Associate Professor Heng Wang said the partnership will cement UNSW’s position as the world’s leading centre for CIBEL research and teaching outside China.
“The services sector is rapidly growing in China with a remit for global partnerships and engagement,” said Professor Healey. “China is Australia’s largest trading partner. This presents an untapped opportunity for CIBEL engagement across a broad range of industries in Australia and China. Given current global trade dynamics, we expect our research to become ever more relevant to the business community in both countries.”
Since its inception, the CIBEL Centre has established a record of high-quality research output including more than three books, 24 book chapters and 40 refereed journal articles. It has also forged strong relationships with key research university partners – Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Peking University and Xi'an Jiaotong University.
“The CIBEL Centre aims to be the leading research and impact centre in this area in the world,” said Associate Professor Wang. “The generous support from Herbert Smith Freehills will facilitate deeper understanding and knowledge of international business and economic law related to China for Australian lawyers, but there is also an appetite from international lawyers, too.”
该中心旨在加强对21世纪与中国相关的国际商业与经济法，特别是中澳贸易走廊方面的研究与合作。
合作伙伴关系为期五年，将通过在中澳两国的战略招聘、研究项目、出版物以及持续联合教育计划，为CIBEL中心的持续发展做出贡献。
该中心于2015年成立于悉尼，聚集了中国以外世界上最大的中国法学者群体。核心小组由五名分别专注于公司法及竞争法、贸易法、投资法和金融法的中国国际经济法学者组成。
史密夫斐尔律师事务所区域管理合伙人Andrew Pike表示，史密夫斐尔致力于深化与澳大利亚主要法学院的关系，同时鼎力支持亚太地区更广泛的法律合作，对CIBEL中心的支持是对这一承诺的有力印证。
“随着澳大利亚与中国在商业和社会层面的联系日益紧密，类似CIBEL中心这样处于其所在领域研究最前沿的合作项目，对于维持我们两国之间长期和经济互益关系将变得越来越重要。” Andrew Pike表示，“我们非常高兴双方的合作将在未来5年帮助CIBEL中心的掌舵人实现其战略目标。”
本所除了在澳大利亚法律市场占据卓越地位外，同时在中国拥有超过30年的经验。 通过在北京、香港和上海设立的长期办事处，提供谙熟中国动态的商业环境的“当地”专业知识。
“我们的中国团队与CIBEL中心以及新南威尔士大学已经在客户项目上合作，并期待共同拓展我们的合作范围，”史密夫斐尔亚洲管理合伙人及清华大学客座教授欧智乐先生说，“对于我们与中国众多领先的国有企业、私营企业和教育机构已建立的关系而言，此次与新南威尔士大学的合作又增添了新的令人兴奋的学术资源支持。”
“中国是澳大利亚最重要的贸易伙伴之一。 史密夫斐尔律师事务所致力于成为客户在中澳贸易走廊法律事务方面的首选法律顾问，无论客户及其开展的项目位于澳大利亚、中国还是区域内其他地方，我们都能全力协助客户维护商业利益。对CIBEL中心的投资将有助于显著提升我们为客户服务的能力。”
新南威尔士大学法学院院长George Williams教授表示：“我们很高兴与史密夫斐尔这样一家全球领先的律师事务所建立合作伙伴关系。 这使得CIBEL中心在研究对澳大利亚和亚太地区经济繁荣至关重要的问题方面领先世界。”
CIBEL中心联合主任Deborah Healey教授和Heng Wang副教授表示，该合作关系将夯实新南威尔士大学作为中国以外世界领先的CIBEL研究与教学中心的位置。
Healey教授说：“中国服务业的迅速发展得益于全球合作和参与。中国是澳大利亚最大的贸易伙伴，这对CIBEL在澳中两国众多行业中的参与来说是一个前所未有的机遇。在全球贸易风云变幻的当下，相信我们的研究将与两国的商业领域更加息息相关。”
CIBEL中心自成立以来已经取得了众多高质量的研究成果，包括出版超过3本书籍、24本书籍中的章节和40篇期刊论文。CIBEL中心还与中国一些著名研究型大学建立了牢固的合作伙伴关系，如清华大学、上海交通大学、北京大学和西安交通大学。
“CIBEL中心旨在成为在这个领域里世界领先的研究和影响力中心，”王副教授说。 “史密夫斐尔律师事务所的大力支持将有助于加深澳大利亚律师对中国国际商业和经济法的理解和认识，当然我们也欢迎全球律师加入我们的行列。”
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