Wei Huang

Practice Areas

Antitrust & Competition, Dispute Resolution, Compliance & Regulatory

Professional Memberships

Deputy Director and General Secretary at the Antitrust Committee of the ACLA

Arbitrator at CIETA

The First China Expert at the ICC Commission on Competition

Experience

Wei has practiced for over twenty years and has long been widely recognized as the leading practitioner across the full spectrum of antitrust and competition matters in China. He has been ranked as Band 1 lawyer in antitrust/competition by LEGALBAND every year since 2015. He has also been ranked as a leading antitrust practitioner in China by Chambers, Legal500 and other ranking institutions every year since 2016.

Wei has a strong and influential reputation in the market as an antitrust litigator. He built his reputation through his successful representations of seminal antitrust cases in China, including 3Q war, Apple v. Qualcomm, JD v. Alibaba, etc. Many of these cases helped shape the antitrust law and practice in China.

Wei is a pioneer in representing clients in all sorts of antitrust investigation initiated by the SAMR and its local branches. He represented some of the most sophisticated landmark investigations in China, including the first international cartel case, the first RPM investigation, the first IPR-related abuse investigation, and others. He has a strong track record of best securing clients’ interests in cases ranging from cartel, RPM, to abuse cases.

Wei has handled hundreds of merger cases ranging from simplified procedure to remedy cases. He can always map out and navigate various stakeholders in complex transactions involving sensitive sectors, such as semiconductor, internet, pharmaceutical, etc., and can advise clients on how to obtain fast clearance and to best cope with the various challenges.

Work Highlights

JD v. Alibaba (Investigation and Litigation): represented JD to file antitrust complaint against Alibaba before the SAMR, which resulted in a record penalty; and further brought a follow-on damage claim against Alibaba, which broke the record case value in the history of antitrust lawsuits in China.

Qihoo v. Tencent (“3Q War”): successfully defended Tencent in the second-instance trial before the Supreme People’s Court in an abuse of dominance claim. This case set up a number of important rules in China and is a SPC guiding case.

Apple v. Qualcomm (Antitrust and FRAND cases): defended Qualcomm in the antitrust lawsuit and FRAND lawsuit brought by Apple in China.

DiDi/ Uber China: represented DiDi on its Chinese merger filing for its US 35 billion acquisition of Uber China business.

SK Hynix/ Intel: represented SK Hynix to file its US 9 billion acquisition of Intel’s NAND and SSD storage business, which is a high-profile transaction with significant impact both in China and globally.

Simcere Case: represented the company in SAMR’s investigation on abuse issues.

DRAM investigation: represented a globally leading DRAM manufacturer in SAMR’s investigation.

Music Label Investigation: represented a leading label in SAMR’s investigation, which involved the complex intersections of IPRs and antitrust

Wei also represented numerous clients in merger filing across tens of industries, handled dozens of antitrust investigations covering all issues, and successfully defended a number of clients in several antitrust lawsuits before specialized IP courts and the Supreme People’s Court.