On March 26th afternoon, China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Top Justice forum signed the Guangzhou Declaration the conference concluded successfully after completing each agenda. Chinese President Xi Jingping sent congratulatory to the forum, which injected new impetus into the conference and motivated the attendees. The representatives suggested that they would strengthen judicial exchange and cooperation, promote “the Belt and Road Initiative”, and make contribution to a community of shared future for mankind.

Mr. Zhou Qiang, Chief Justice of the People's Republic of China and President of the Supreme People's Court, Mr. Adelino Muchanga, President of the Supreme Court of Mozambique, Mr. He Zhongyou, member of the standing committee of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, secretary of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Committee delivered closing speeches at the ceremony.

After an intensive exchange of views, the attendees signed the Guangzhou Declaration. The Declaration stated that, with the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Portuguese-speaking countries enjoy even closer cooperation in the trade and personnel flows. The supreme courts in China and the participating countries are willing to enhance communication, deepen cooperation and provide legal support for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Declaration emphasized that, both China and Portuguese countries realized the responsibility and mission the judicial organs have to bear in the information era, and they would like to take a proactive role and learn from each other to promote judicial informatization and uphold the rule of law in cyberspace management. The Supreme People’s Court of China would like to share the experience in using Internet technologies in the trial of cases with other countries, in order to advance the trial process of the cases that involved citizens from China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Internet related legal issues are highly important to all the supreme courts presenting in the forum. These countries are ready to take joint efforts to safeguard network security, make sure that the cyberspace is ruled by the law, and would love to jointly build a community of shared future for cyberspace.

The Declaration pointed out that all parties would enhance the cooperation in using Internet technologies in case studies, adopting modern technologies in research and analysis, as well as taking joint efforts to fight cross-border crimes and to resolve international civil and commercial disputes. Furthermore, all the supreme courts will make continuous effort to expand the areas of cooperation, strengthen and deepen the experience exchange in judicial reform and judicial system improvement, and to upgrade the level of cooperation in the judicial domain.

Mr. Zhou Qiang noted that, this forum is a top level meeting in the judicial domain between China and Portuguese-speaking countries with the development of the mutual trust and practical cooperation between these countries as well as the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. This forum has brought the judicial cooperation to a new level. The Guangzhou Declaration will surely have a positive impact on the development of judicial relationship and cooperation between the signing countries.

Mr. Zhou Qiang further indicated that this forum was positive, practical and fruitful and that all the attendees had an intensive exchange and provided profound insight under the theme of “To challenge and go beyond-Jurisdiction in the era of information”. Broad consensus and practical achievement had been reached at the forum. It was also a meeting to reunite old friends and enhance mutual friendships. Openness and inclusiveness had allowed all the attendees to express their ideas freely, which tremendously deepened the mutual trust and friendship between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. This forum carried on the past and opened a way for future, signified a new historic starting point of judicial exchange and cooperation and laid the groundwork for more intensive cooperation in the judicial domain between China and Portuguese speaking countries. The Supreme Court of China would like to work with the supreme courts from Portuguese-speaking countries to further enhance the level of communication and cooperation and contribute to regional prosperity and stability as well as a community of shared future for humanity.

Muchanga expressed his congratulations on the successful conclusion of the forum and highly praised the organization of Supreme People’s Court of China. He said this conference was historically significant. All participating countries had an in-depth discussion of judicature in the information era, shared their experiences in this area and reached many consensuses, which would be helpful for all the countries to cope with the challenges they face in the Internet sector and strengthen cyberspace management. He further stressed that all participating countries should advance mutual dialogue and deepen cooperation, promote the utilization of modern technologies in judicature so as to benefit the people in these countries. 

Mr. He Zhongyou indicated that this forum laid the groundwork and served as a reference for enhancing the level of communication and cooperation in judicial sector between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and establishing a predictable legal environment of stability, fairness and transparency. It also brought many new concepts, ideas and schemes to the development of the judicial system in the information era. Under the Internet context, judicature may create more possibilities to rule of low in the human society, and would provide stronger legal support for the ever-increasing commercial and cultural exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The following senior loaw officals from Portuguese-speaking countries attended the closing ceremony of the forum: Mr. Paul Sarnia, president of the Supreme People’s Court of Guinea-Bissau, Mr. António Silva Henriques Gaspar, president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Portugal, Mr. Manuel Silva Gomes Cravid, president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Sao Tome and Principe, Cristiano Morales de Abril e Silva, vice president of the Supreme Court of Angola,  President of the Brazilian Association of Federal Judges, president of the Brazilian Association of Judges, as well as the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Equatorial Guinea, vice president of the Supreme Court of Equatorial Quinea.

The closing ceremony was hosted by Mr. Li Shaoping, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court of China. The following senior law officials attended the opening ceremony of the forum: Mr. Sam Hou Fai, President of Macau Court of Final Appeal, Mr. Tao Kaiyuan, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court of China, Mr. Liu Guixiang, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China, Member of the Judical Committee of the Supreme People’s Court of China, and president of the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court, Mr. Gong Jiali, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and President of the High People’s Court of Guangdong Province, Mr. Liu Xiaoyun, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and President of High People’s Court of Shanghai, Mr. Wu Xielin, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and President of High People’s Court of Fujian Province, and Mr. Huang Hailong, Justice (Second Rank）of the People’s Republic of China and President of High People’s Court of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. President of the Supreme People’s Court of China, related officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce, and representatives of the supreme courts in the participating Portuguese-speaking countries attended the closing ceremony. 

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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.