06 Jul 2026
Baker Tilly expands China Desk with partners Xiaolun Heijenga and Hui Zhao
"Baker Tilly has added partners Xiaolun Heijenga (tax) and Hui Zhao (corporate/M&A), strengthening its China Desk to provide integrated tax and legal advisory for Chinese companies in Germany and Europe."
Xiaolun Heijenga brings more than 25 years of tax advisory experience in the Sino‑German context and is recognised as a leading expert in this field. After positions at EY and Deloitte, she most recently served as a partner at WTS, where she led the China Business in Germany practice and advised primarily Chinese companies on investments in Germany, from market entry and ongoing tax matters to complex M&A transactions. In 2025 she carved out the China business from WTS and transferred her entire team into the newly established FAM Tax GmbH; FAM Tax GmbH has now been integrated into Baker Tilly. Heijenga joins Baker Tilly as a partner with her ten‑person team and will lead the Baker Tilly China Desk Tax.
Hui Zhao has over two decades of experience advising Chinese state‑owned and private enterprises on investments in Germany and Europe, with a focus on M&A transactions and ongoing corporate and commercial law matters. He began his legal career in 2001 at White & Case in Brussels and subsequently worked at international firms in Shanghai and Frankfurt, including Noerr and King & Wood Mallesons, where as an equity partner he contributed to the development of the China business. Most recently he held a comparable role at Eversheds Sutherland. Zhao joins Baker Tilly as a partner and will support the firm’s China‑focused corporate and M&A work.
Together with Baker Tilly partner Yan Zhang, Head of China Desk Legal, the two new partners will further expand the Baker Tilly China Desk, which now comprises more than 20 tax and legal professionals and is positioned as one of the leading integrated tax and legal advisory units in Germany for Chinese companies.