Lijun Cao is a co-head of Zhong Lun’s Dispute Resolution Department. He is licensed to practice law in China and the New York State. Lijun received an LL.B. from the Law School of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and an LL.M. from the School of Law of the University of California at Berkeley.

Before starting the private practice, Lijun worked with CIETAC for many years. Among his professional affiliations, Lijun is a panellist (arbitrator) of CIETAC, HKIAC, SIAC, ICC, AIAC, ICDR, WIPO, the Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei (CAA), the Arbitration Center Across the Straits (ACAS), the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC), etc.

Lijun is also a Member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration, the Vice Chairman of the Arbitration Committee of ICC China, and the Secretary General of the Arbitration Committee of All China Lawyers Association (ACLA).

Lijun has represented clients in over 300 arbitration cases, which relate to subject matters such as international sale of goods, joint venture, equity transfer, energy, mining, construction, real estate and intellectual properties, and have been conducted under various arbitration rules. He was a key member of the legal team that successfully defended the PRC government in an ICSID case (Ansung Housing Co., Ltd. v. People’s Republic of China, ICSID Case No. ARB/14/25).

Since 2014, Chambers Global has continuously ranked Lijun as a “Band 1” international arbitration lawyer. He has been listed as “Dispute Resolution Star” by Benchmark Litigation since 2018. He has also been listed in “Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration” since 2014 and “Who’s Who Legal: Litigation” since 2016.