On 18 April, the Supreme People's Court held a national symposium on foreign-related commercial chief judges in Hangzhou to summarize and exchange the national foreign-related commercial trial experience in 2016, analyze the new situation and missions, promote various tasks for foreign-related commercial trials in 2017, and study to solve the difficulties in practical trials. Liu Guixiang, Member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court, made an important speech entitled “Strengthening Foreign-Related Commercial Trials for China's New Pattern of Opening Up.” Chen Guomeng, President of the High Court of Zhejiang Province, also delivered a speech. The attendees included Chen Shu, Chen Naike and Yu Xuewen, deputies to the National People's Congress, Gan Peizhong, the special counsellor of the Supreme People's Court, and other experts and scholars.

Liu Guixiang pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the party Central Committee under President Xi Jinping's leadership has made strategic decisions to promote the Belt and Road Initiative and  Free Trade Zone Strategy, as China faces the complicated international and domestic situation. The Supreme People's Court has conscientiously implemented the strategic deployment of the Party Central Committee, kept comprehensively developing foreign-related commercial trials, so as to provide a strong judicial guarantee for the Belt and Road Initiative and  Free Trade Zone Strategy.

Liu Guixiang asked the people's courts at all levels to speed up the modernization of foreign-related commercial judicial mechanisms, expeditiously introduce and improve the judicial interpretation of the centralized jurisdictional mechanism for foreign-related commercial cases. What's more, the courts should optimize the foreign-related service system, develop not only the mechanism to discern foreign laws, but also the judicial review mechanism for arbitration. It is vital to strengthen the mechanism to ensure judicial services in the free trade zone and establish the degree of internal review of foreign-related civil and commercial cases. The people's courts must deliver services according to the degree of urgency, effectively combine political, social and legal effects, balance the relationship between "quality" and "quantity," and spread international influence of major cases. It is necessary to explore the unified mechanism for the application of laws, and the Supreme People's Court should formulate judicial interpretations or policies timely for a better guidance. Furthermore, China needs to develop and introduce foreign-related judicial professionals to form a specialized foreign-related commercial trial team that practices domestic laws well and understands international rules with a global outlook.

Liu Guixiang emphasized that the basis of foreign-related trials is the establishment of a professional team. The people's courts must not only conscientiously study the spirit of President Xi Jinping's important speeches to strengthen "Four Consciousness Concept" and insist "Four Confidence Idea," but also conscientiously construct an honest party against corruption, and a responsible and loyal team of foreign-related judges.

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*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.