Mr. Sun focuses on legal services in the customs and import/export field, with particular specialization in customs administrative disputes and smuggling criminal defense. Over 25 years of practice, he has personally handled or led teams in more than 400 matters, covering smuggling criminal defense, customs administrative disputes, and customs compliance.

Bachelor’s Degree, Jilin University

Mr. Sun is a Senior Partner of Landing Law Offices, Director of the Landing (Shenzhen) law office, and founder of the Customs Lawyer Network (https://www.customslawyer.cn/). He was the first lawyer in China to advocate the concept of the “Customs Lawyer”, and serves as Chief Customs Affairs Expert of the Shenzhen Import and Export Chamber of Commerce. He established the dedicated customs legal services team in 2006. After 15 years as a Chinese Customs officer, Mr. Sun has practiced as a lawyer since 2001, with 25 years of practice as of 2026.

• Aug 1986 – Jan 2001  Section Chief, Shenzhen Customs
• Feb 2001 – Apr 2006  Attorney, Guangdong Chuangji Law Firm
• Apr 2006 – Nov 2019  Attorney, Guangdong Guanghe Law Firm
• Dec 2019 – Present  Director, Landing (Shenzhen) Law Office

Smuggling Criminal Defense

• 2002: Defended an electronics manufacturer charged with the unauthorized domestic sale of  bonded electronic components (crime of smuggling ordinary goods), securing a lenient sentence for the company.
• 2003–2004: Defended a major processing-trade garment smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Through effective defense, the court rejected most of the alleged smuggling conduct, materially reducing the penalties imposed on the company and individuals involved.
• 2009–2010: Led a team handling a major series of automotive parts smuggling cases (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Successfully reduced the assessed evaded taxes amount and obtained recognition of certain conduct as merely attempted (rather than completed) offenses, resulting in mitigated and reduced sentences for the company and the individuals.
• 2013–2014: Defended an enterprise and its principal in a smuggling case involving agricultural product quotas (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Through effective defense, the procuratorate issued a non-prosecution decision on grounds of unclear facts and insufficient evidence.
• 2013–2014: Led a team in a major timber undervaluation smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods), obtaining a decision not to approve arrest and, ultimately, non-prosecution.
• 2014–2015: Led a team defending an exhibition company in a jewelry smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Successfully obtained reclassification of the offense from individual to unit (corporate) crime and obtained a lenient sentence.
• 2014–2018: Led a team in defending a series of agricultural products smuggling cases under Customs’ “Green Wind” operation (crime of smuggling ordinary goods), handling more than ten matters. Achieved a substantial reduction of evaded taxes (reduction rate exceeding 60%) and secured bail, mitigated penalties, and probation for numerous corporate and individual defendants, providing a successful precedent for the lenient resolution (typically by probation) of subsequent similar cases.
• 2014–2016: Led a team in a major case alleging misclassification of chemical industrial products (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Afte years of investigation, prosecution, and two trials, the defense ultimately prevailed, securing withdrawal of prosecution and non-prosecution.
• 2015–2016: Led a team defending a nut and stone products smuggling case, obtaining non-prosecution for the company’s principal.
• 2016–2018: Led a team handling a nationally significant precious and endangered wildlife smuggling case (involving the crimes of smuggling ordinary goods, smuggling precious wildlife and wildlife products, and illegal business operations). Through effective defense, secured non-prosecution outcomes for several of the involved parties.
• 2016–2018: Led a team defending a large enterprise in a processing trade smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Through effective defense, the assessed evaded tax was reduced by more than 90%, from over RMB 60 million to approximately RMB 4 million. All defendants were granted bail and ultimately sentenced to probation.
• 2017–2018: Led a team defending a major domestic stone products price undervaluation smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods), securing non-prosecution and probation for multiple defendants.
• 2015–2020: Led a team defending a well-known foreign-invested enterprise in a processing trade agricultural products smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods/articles). Through sustained engagement with the authorities and submission of detailed defense opinions, obtained a reduced sentence on appeal.
• 2018–2019: Led a team defending a client charged with the crime of smuggling waste, obtaining non-prosecution.
• 2018–2019: Led a team defending a “shuike” (parallel trader) ring in a jewelry smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Through effective defense, reduced the assessed smuggled quantities and corresponding evaded tax, securing a lenient sentence for the client.
• 2019–2022: Led a team providing criminal defense to the principal of an enterprise in a major series of vehicle smuggling cases (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Successfully limited the alleged quantity attributed to the principal to a very narrow range and obtained a lenient sentence (three years’ fixed-term imprisonment).
• 2020: Led a team defending a duty-inclusive (“baoshui”) chip smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Through effective reduction of evaded taxes, substantially decreased the assessed amount (from over RMB 6 million to approximately RMB 3 million) and secured non-prosecution for the company, its principal, and other responsible personnel.
• 2020: Defended the principal of a major bonded-zone enterprise charged with smuggling U.S. agricultural products subject to retaliatory tariffs (crime of smuggling ordinary goods), successfully obtaining bail and ultimately, dismissal of the case.
• 2020–2022: Led a team defending a large enterprise in a processing trade smuggling case, as well as a duty-inclusive (“baoshui”) mobile phone components smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). By challenging factual insufficiency, evidentiary deficiencies, and the defendants’ role and degree of participation, obtained lenient sentences for the company and its principal.
• 2021–2023: Led a team defending a particularly major human hair smuggling case. Successfully reduced the originally charged two offenses (smuggling waste and smuggling ordinary goods) to a single lesser offense, substantially shortening the prison term and reducing the fine (from over RMB 30 million to approximately RMB 3 million), establishing a precedent for the resolution of similar cases.
• 2021–2023: Led a team defending an enterprise in a major agricultural-products case charged with the crime of evading commodity inspection. Designed a compliance rectification program for the implicated company, which successfully passed compliance review, leading to a non-prosecution decision from the procuratorate.
• 2021–2023: Led a team defending an enterprise charged with undervaluation smuggling (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Designed a compliance program for the implicated enterprise, which successfully passed compliance review, leading to a non-prosecution decision from the procuratorate.
• 2023: Provided defense services during the investigation stage to the principal of a transportation enterprise suspected of cosmetics smuggling (crime of smuggling ordinary goods); the principal was ultimately released on bail and the case was dismissed.
• 2023–2024: Led a team in a major case of smuggling medical aesthetic products and cosmetics (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). By submitting detailed legal opinions, effectively reduced the assessed tax by more than RMB 4 million.
• 2023–2024: Defended the principal of an enterprise charged with the unlawful export of controlled dual-use items (crime of smuggling goods whose import or export is prohibited by the State). Through effective defense, secured a non-prosecution result for the principal.
• 2024–2025: Led a team defending an enterprise in an import commodity inspection evasion case (crime of evading commodity inspection). Through vigorous and effective defense, obtained a non-prosecution result.
• 2024–2025: Led a team defending a major foreign-invested enterprise in a bonded zone chip and memory device smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). By challenging certain factual and evidentiary deficiencies, reduced evaded taxes by 40% and obtained probation for the company’s principal and employees.
• 2025–2026: Led a team defending the principal of an enterprise in a military goods export case (crime of smuggling goods whose import or export is prohibited by the State). Through vigorous and effective defense, the principal obtained a lenient sentence.
• 2025–2026: Provided defense services to the principal of a frozen goods enterprise in a undervaluation import smuggling case (crime of smuggling ordinary goods). Developed effective response strategies that helped the enterprise navigate the matter, with the principal granted bail and the case dismissed.

Export Control Administrative Disputes

• From 2023 through early 2026, handled more than 30 non-litigation matters involving export-controlled items. Industries served include drones and related items; precision equipment and instruments; medium and heavy rare earths, rare metals, and other critical strategic mineral resources; superhard materials; graphite and graphite products; telecommunications; chemicals; sensors; lasers; navigation; shipbuilding; batteries and energy storage; and military goods (including ballistic protection equipment, targeting and sighting devices, military navigation systems, military logistics supplies and equipment, and drone/counter-drone systems). Scope of work included day-to-day advisory and risk prevention, customs detention matters, on-site customs inquiries, customs audits, and customs administrative penalty proceedings. Through professional opinions, advisory guidance, and tailored response strategies, successfully averted administrative penalties and criminal exposure for these clients.

Customs Tariff Disputes

• Provided dedicated legal services to a Korean surveillance camera lens manufacturer facing a customs audit for inaccurate HS code declarations, persuading customs to reduce its enforcement action from a three-year retroactive tax recovery to a one-year supplementary tax assessment.

Customs Administrative Penalty Disputes

• Represented a French Christmas decorations manufacturer facing customs penalties, securing reclassification of the violation from "smuggling" to a regulatory infraction.

Customs Audit and Tax Recovery Disputes

• Acted as dedicated counsel for a French gold jewelry processing trade enterprise, securing exemption from customs penalties and supplementary tax assessment, with the affected materials re-exported overseas.

Customs Price Audit

• Provided legal services to a renowned U.S. audio equipment company in connection with a customs audit concerning music copyright license fees, leveraging specialized knowledge to enable the company to successfully clear the audit.

Customs Valuation

• Provided legal services to a major Japanese equipment manufacturer in connection with a customs audit concerning royalty fees, effectively safeguarding the company’s lawful interests and enabling it to successfully clear the audit.

HS Code Classification

• Provided dedicated customs classification legal services to a Hong Kong sporting goods brand, helping standardize its import/export declarations and trade procedures to support orderly business growth.
• Advised a Hong Kong enterprise on the classification of imported electrical equipment components, issuing a formal lawyer’s classification opinion that supported smooth, compliant importation.

Customs Intellectual Property Protection

• Provided customs IP protection services to numerous multinational enterprises, including IP customs recordation applications, applications for detention of infringing goods, and IP infringement litigation.

Chief Customs Affairs Expert, Shenzhen Import and Export Chamber of Commerce.

Admitted to practice law in the People’s Republic of China (PRC Bar).

Authored / Edited Works

• RCEP Countries Investment Legal Guide:Indonesia Volume, Guangdong People’s Publishing House
• Customs Valuation and Tax Disputes (co-authored with Chen Bing), China Customs Press
• Customs Tariff Law: Analysis, Q&A, and Case Studies (co-authored with Chen Bing), China Customs Press

Compiled Works

• Guodong Sun’s Collected Writings on Export Licensing and Export Control
• Guodong Sun’s Collected Writings on Tax-Related Smuggling Criminal Defense
• Guodong Sun’s Collected Writings on Risk Prevention and Customs Compliance for Import/Export Enterprises

Chinese / English