Trust Across Borders
Chapter 1: Why I Started Writing Before Anyone Knew My Name
Published as part of the Trust Across Borders series.
A Website That Nobody Knew
The first English legal article I published attracted almost no attention.
It appeared on my website, xuzhousoft.com, a domain I had originally registered years earlier when I co-founded a software company with several partners before practicing law.
By the time I published that article, I had already become a practicing lawyer and had recently started my independent practice.
I was not well known.
I had no international reputation.
Most importantly, I had no idea whether anyone outside China would ever read what I wrote.
Still, I published the article.
Then I wrote another.
And another.
Why Write in English?
People sometimes ask why I chose to write in English instead of writing only for Chinese readers.
The answer was simple.
I believed foreign businesses needed practical guidance even more than Chinese businesses did.
Chinese companies already had access to Chinese lawyers.
They understood the language.
They were familiar with the legal system.
They knew where to find professional help.
Foreign businesses faced a completely different situation.
They had to overcome language barriers.
Different legal systems.
Different business cultures.
Different expectations.
And perhaps the greatest challenge of all:
Finding someone in China they could trust.
Academic Research and Practical Questions
When I first started writing, I read many English articles about Chinese law.
Most were written by professors, researchers, or large international law firms.
I respected academic research very much.
But foreign businesses rarely asked academic questions.
They asked practical questions.
What happens if my Chinese supplier refuses to deliver?
Can I recover my money?
Should I sue in China or somewhere else?
What evidence should I preserve?
How do Chinese courts actually work?
These were not questions that could be answered simply by quoting legislation.
They required practical experience.
That was the perspective I hoped to share.
Helping Before Being Hired
At the beginning, I wasn’t trying to attract clients.
I wasn’t trying to build a personal brand.
I simply wanted to help foreign businesses better understand China’s legal and commercial environment.
I believed that if even one article could help one company avoid one serious mistake, then writing it was worthwhile.
I had no idea whether anyone would ever read those articles.
But I believed that someone, somewhere, would eventually need them.
So I kept writing.
The First Foreign Inquiry
One day, I received my first inquiry from a foreign business.
My first reaction was not excitement.
It was doubt.
I wondered whether the inquiry was genuine.
Receiving an international legal inquiry seemed almost unbelievable at that time.
After several exchanges, however, I realized the company was real.
Its dispute was real.
And somehow, something I had written had reached someone on the other side of the world.
That moment changed everything.
For the first time, I realized that words written by an ordinary lawyer in China could genuinely help someone thousands of kilometers away.
When Writing Became a Mission
Originally, I simply wanted to explain Chinese law.
Over time, however, I realized something much more important.
Foreign businesses were not simply looking for legal information.
They were looking for someone who could help them understand China.
Someone who could explain not only the law, but also the business environment, the legal culture, and the practical realities behind commercial disputes.
At that moment, writing stopped being a hobby.
It became part of my professional responsibility.
I could not help every company.
But I could write something that might help the next one.
Even today, I still believe that helping one business make one better decision is worthwhile.
Trust Begins Before the First Conversation
Many people believe trust begins when a lawyer and a client first meet.
My experience has been different.
Trust often begins much earlier.
It begins when someone searches for an answer.
Reads an article.
Learns something useful.
And realizes that another person has taken the time to share knowledge without expecting anything in return.
Many of my international clients first came to know me through articles I had written years earlier.
Long before they sent an email.
Long before they made a phone call.
Long before they became clients.
Looking back, I now understand something I did not realize when I wrote that first article.
I was not simply writing about Chinese law.
I was quietly building trust across borders.
Continue Reading
← Introduction: Why I Wrote This Book
→ Chapter 2: The Values That Changed My Career
To read the complete Trust Across Borders series, search:
Trust Across Borders
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