Top Chinese law firm Dacheng has launched in the Moscow market via a cooperation agreement with Russian outfit Lidings.

Dacheng, currently the largest provider of local legal services in China, has appointed a team of two to head its base in the Russian capital – Russian-speaking Chinese lawyer Cai Jiefeng and senior partner Xu Yongqian.

It is understood to be the first Chinese law firm to debut in the country, launching under the name of Dacheng Moscow.

Lidings, which has 30 fee earners across two offices in Moscow and St Petersburg, has been the firm's best friend in Russia for two years and has worked with Dacheng on a number of projects involving Chinese investors into Russia and Russian investors into China.

As part of the agreement, Dacheng will take space in Lidings' Moscow premises in the city's international central business district, but the firms will continue to work together on a non-exclusive basis.

Dacheng currently has nearly 20 lawyers in its Russia practice, which predominantly advises Russian businesses on Chinese laws. Core practice areas include M&A, restructuring, international trade, infrastructure, real estate and construction, energy and natural resources, intellectual property, finance and insurance, capital markets and disputes. It is understood to be keen to develop a local practice in Russia, where it already has clients.

"We will remain independent firms but we have assisted Dacheng on opening their Moscow office," said Lidings partner and the firm's head of dispute resolution Andrey Zelenin.

"We have been working with them on a number of joint projects here in Russia, so they decided to expand and establish their own presence here. Our role is just to assist them in the set up process. They will be using our premises for the time being. Once they start expanding they will separate from us.

"We will be working together on a case by case basis for projects that come up in future, as we do already. The only difference will be that they will have a local presence and be closer to their clients in the Russian market.

"We don't have Chinese speakers, we see that as creating huge potential because of the Chinese investors in the Russian market.

"It seemed a good idea to set up with a firm that already has experience of doing work for Chinese investors globally but it is still purely a Chinese firm and knows how to approach the clients."

Dacheng currently has 39 offices in China and more than 2,000 lawyers, and an international network which spans Hong Kong, Tapei, Singapore, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. It is among a string of Chinese firms looking to become an international player, alongside rivals King & Wood Mallesons, Zhong Lun and Jun He.