AN EXPERT in Chinese law gave Merseyside businesses a crash course in doing business in China yesterday.

DLA Piper corporate partner Josh Wong warned of the pitfalls of not doing thorough due diligence but said China offered huge growth prospects.

He also said Liverpool’s pavilion at the Shanghai Expo is helping business and civic leaders forge key relationships that underpin trade with China.

Mr Wong, who runs DLA’s UK China desk, said directors should not shy away from doing business with China, but should heed professional advice before taking the plunge.

He was speaking at a DLA Piper-hosted breakfast event yesterday. Mike Taylor, from Liverpool Vision, also updated delegates on how the Liverpool pavilion in Shanghai is performing.

Grant Thornton far east Asia tax specialist Nick Farr spoke about Chinese financial regulations.

After the meeting, Mr Wong told LDP Legal: “What came across very strongly was the number of different parties who are going over from Liverpool and making key relationships with people in Shanghai.

“There’s a huge benefit to Liverpool because doing business in China is all about relationships. Liverpool being one of only a handful of cities worldwide at the Shanghai Expo – it creates a huge amount of interest in Liverpool.

“On the back of that there’s going to be a lot of relationships built on the civic and business level and that’s something that the city will benefit from.”

By mid-June around 115,000 visitors had seen inside the £2.8m Liverpool expo pavilion.

Mr Wong, who has been a DLA partner for three years and worked in Beijing and Shanghai for seven years before that, added: “There’s a lot of mystique around doing business in China. Many businesses think there’s a huge cultural difference.

“But it’s more about common sense than about anything else. What I tell my clients is that they can’t leave their business head at home.

“Make sure that you know the Chinese partner very well and that you trust them. If you don’t do your homework, there could be trouble down the line.”

Mr Farr also said: “China offers huge opportunities, but there are numerous issues facing anyone doing business there, and it is important to get the structure of the operations correct at the outset.

“Without adequate preparation, businesses can find themselves facing numerous administrative and regulatory issues. In some cases, this could result in cash being trapped.”