King & Wood Mallesons’ global chief executive, Sue Kench, will step down at the end of this year, and the firm’s global management committee is yet to decide when it will appoint a replacement.

Ms Kench’s departure from the rare cross-border role that has responsibility for the “development and implementation of the firm’s global strategy” signifies a new phase in the Sino-Australian alliance, which insiders admit has failed to reach the heights predicted when it was signed more than a decade ago.