China Britain Law Institute's Matthew Townsend (pictured) praises Chinese firms' expansion and local hiring strategies

In a meeting room on the 40th floor of a Beijing office tower, Rupert Li, International managing partner of the Chinese firm King & Wood, contemplates a trip to London. Li, who joined the Chinese giant from Clifford Chance in 2010, notes that his visits to the UK have now taken on a more pleasant hue as local firms, which formerly considered him a competitor, now give him a warm reception.

This is unsurprising. When it comes to servicing international transactions, historically top UK and US firms have not regarded China's still-developing legal services industry as competition. On the other side of the coin, international firms are obliged to cultivate relationships with their Chinese counterparts if they wish to have any frontline China capability in a jurisdiction where the Government still prohibits 'foreign' (ie, non-Chinese) firms from practising.

The result is something approaching a perfectly co-operative commercial environment, as both Chinese and international firms strive to build stronger mutual relationships with multiple partners. Only in Hong Kong, where international and Chinese firms fight tooth and nail for mainland business, does this rule seem not to apply.

In 2011 Chinese firms DaCheng and YingKe are both looking to open London offices. The moves come in the context of a rapid globalisation effort by both firms.

DaCheng, whose London office will open in late 2011, has already established outposts in New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong. For YingKe, a London presence comes in the context of an even more ambitious international strategy, with established or expected offices in Sao Paulo, Verona, Budapest, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York, Johannesburg, Moscow, Tokyo and Sydney.

Both firms have developed a recent fondness for displaying world maps on their websites and in their offices as they exhibit their new global range.

Less certain, however, is the future role the new offices will play. The key question is whether they will function primarily as marketing outposts to encourage China inbound business, or whether they will eventually grow into genuine competitors to the local firms. Informally, partners at both YingKe and DaCheng acknowledge that genuine competition with local firms, at least in the short term, is a "big ask". For now the offices will fulfil an important marketing role, providing local clients with a point of contact in their own location and timezone.

Nevertheless, both firms cite the vast growth in Chinese outward investment as a key plank in their international strategies. An international network offers the possibility of building legitimate freestanding practices servicing Chinese and international clients in key financial and business centres worldwide.

By contrast, elite Chinese firms like King & Wood, Jun He and Zhong Lun appear to be taking a more conservative approach to international expansion. King & Wood, despite its stellar international client roster and the growing number of international lawyers it employs, has an oft-articulated Asia-focused strategy, eschewing rapid foreign expansion and concentrating, instead, on quality growth at home.

Chinese businesses abroad sometimes face criticism for maintaining culturally (and often ethnically) 'Chinese' business composition characterised by a top-heavy Beijing-based management structure and limited foreign input into business decisions.

Time will tell how far YingKe and DaCheng's international expansion diverges from this model. For now, the signals are encouraging. Perhaps in contrast to some of the People's Republic of China big players, both firms are trying to build significant local focus into their expansion plans. More than half of DaCheng's New York branch is locally retained.

Both YingKe and DaCheng have pursued joint venture openings with local law firms (in Hungary and Singapore respectively). Tellingly, YingKe's Hungarian and Italian office heads are both local nationals whose links to China are professional, not personal.

Nevertheless, in the long-run both firms will have to overcome the daunting obstacles faced by non-Anglo-Saxon firms in the globalising legal market. Not least of these is the dominance of the English language and transatlantic law in international transactions, a factor accounting for the overwhelming dominance of US and UK firms in international rankings tables of revenue and profit. It appears that Chinese firms can expect a warm reception in London for some time to come.

Matthew Townsend is an English solicitor and co-founder and director of the China Britain Law Institute.