Tao Kaiyuan, Vice-president and Justice of the Supreme People's Court of China

(May 25, 2023)

As a famous Tang poet said, “Xi'an is a capital city with thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, as well as nine gates”. Xi'an was the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and an important hub for the Belt and Road Initiative (the BRI). It is also the Belt and Road Comprehensive Pilot Zone. Last week, the China-Central Asia Summit concluded grandly in the beautiful city of Xi'an. Today, we gather in this city which served as the imperial capital of thirteen Chinese dynasties to participate in the seminar on the theme of “New Era, New Opportunities and New Development”. The goal is to promote high-quality development of the International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism and the BRI of the Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services (the BRDZ-ICLS), which has further implemented the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions and led to fruitful results. Representatives of the seminar delivered wonderful speeches focusing on the theme, which made the seminar a fruitful one. Hereby, on behalf of the Supreme People's Court of China, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the representatives present at the seminar, as well as Shaanxi High People's Court, Xi'an Bureau of Justice, Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park, and Xi'an Intermediate People's Court for their strong support and contributions to the seminar!

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and the 5th anniversary of the “Opinion Concerning the Establishment of the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Institutions” issued by the general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. At present, the changes unseen in a century are evolving and the global governance system is being profoundly reshaped. As an important part of a country's core competitiveness, the rule of law has been widely valued by the international community. In the future, we need to further develop an international commercial dispute resolution mechanism with Chinese characteristics and in line with the world standard based on the “one-stop” platform, and work together to make China a preferred place for international commercial dispute settlement. Focusing on the theme of this seminar — “New Era, New Opportunities and New Challenges”, I would like to put forward three suggestions on further promoting the construction of a “one-stop” diversified international commercial dispute resolution platform and the development of the BRDZ-ICLS.

First, promote the innovative development of the “one-stop” diversified international commercial dispute resolution in the new era from the perspective of serving overall national development. The 20th National Congress of the CPC put forward the grand goal of fully building a modern socialist country, and rolled out major strategic plans for promoting high-standard opening-up and law-based governance on all fronts. Building a world-leading international commercial dispute resolution mechanism is a glorious mission entrusted to us by the new era. All institutions of the “one-stop” platform should bear in mind the bigger picture, act proactively, fully implement a holistic approach to national security, and provide robust legal guarantees for the country's major strategic plans for opening up. It is necessary to steadily promote institutional opening-up that covers rules, regulations, management, and standards, be actively involved in amendments of the Civil Procedure Law, Arbitration Law, and Maritime Law, accelerate the legislative process of commercial mediation, and help build a legal system for international commercial dispute resolution. It is necessary to adhere to the principle of equally protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties, actively integrate into the implementation of major national strategies for opening up such as the BRI, the Pilot Free Trade Zone, Hainan Free Trade Port, and the Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding and Opening-up of the Service Sector, actively explore and innovate legal service mechanisms, properly resolve international commercial disputes, and enhance the trust and confidence of international commercial subjects in China's rule of law environment.

Second, seize new opportunities and pull out all the stops to build a high-quality “one-stop” diversified international commercial dispute resolution platform that is delicately operated. As China further opens up, parties in disputes have shown a growing demand for an international commercial dispute resolution mechanism. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core attaches great importance to the construction of foreign-related rule of law and advances the rule of law in domestic and foreign-related affairs in a coordinated manner, bringing unprecedented opportunities for the construction of International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism. The overall framework of the “one-stop” platform has already been built. In the future, we will focus on the platform's operational specifics and the refinement of rules to continuously make the platform more standardized, scientific, and refined. All institutions of the “one-stop” platform should actively guide Chinese and foreign parties to use the platform to handle case filing procedures, participate in mediation, exchange evidence, and hold courts online, so as to empower and increase the efficiency of international commercial dispute resolution. It is necessary to articulate preservation cases and judicial review cases in arbitration with litigation and give full play to the role of the China International Commercial Court (the CICC) in supporting and supervising arbitration to help international commercial arbitration institutions in China enhance their international credibility and influence. It is necessary to strengthen the link between litigation and mediation in entrusted mediation cases and provide high-quality, efficient, and convenient dispute resolution services for parties concerned to resolve disputes through non-litigation mediation, enhancing the appeal of China's international commercial mediation institutions.

This afternoon, some participants will discuss the Guidelines for the “One-stop” Diversified International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism by the Supreme People's Court of China (Exposure Draft). As a key task of the CICC this year, this is related to how the “one-stop” mechanism can further exert its effectiveness. I call on all of you to attach great importance to it, pool together your efforts and expertise, and contribute to the improvement of the document. In addition, experts from “one-stop” institutions and the CICC participate in “Improving the International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism along the Belt and Road Under New Situation”, a research and investigation I lead, echoing the endeavor of the party organization of the Supreme People's Court of China to strengthen investigation and research in courts across China. We also hope that this investigation and research will help integrate the latest achievements in the construction of the international commercial dispute resolution mechanism, deeply analyze existing problems, and further clarify the objectives, specific plans, and key links of the work.

Third, jointly seek new development opportunities and work together to build China into a preferred place for international commercial dispute resolution.  Adhering to extensive consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits is a basic principle of China's International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism, and the construction of a “one-stop” platform best interprets this principle. The CICC of the Supreme People's Court should establish a contact person system, hold regular work meetings, and carry out business exchanges, to smooth channels for information exchange and resource integration, and to realize the orderly docking and smooth operation of the “one-stop” platform. It is necessary to make and implement plans in advance, and pay special attention to some questions such as whether the use of the online “one-stop” platform is smooth and convenient, and how to implement arbitration preservation quickly and efficiently, to ensure a smooth implementation of the Work Guidelines. It is necessary to further improve the “one-stop” online platform, strengthen its capability to manage international commercial cases, and make full use of information technology to enable the “one-stop” platform to operate more quickly and effectively. International commercial arbitration and mediation institutions should strengthen the promotion and guidance of the “one-stop” platform, so that more parties can understand and actively choose the platform to resolve disputes. It is necessary to give full play to the institutional advantages of cross-border and cross-industry recruitment of arbitrators and mediators, and further develop the positive role of foreign arbitrators and mediators in cross-border dispute resolution, extraterritorial law research, international rule of law exchanges and cooperation, to realize the intercommunication and sharing of international rule of law resources within the “one-stop” mechanism, and accelerate the mechanism's internationalization and professional development. The International Commercial Expert Committee (ICEC) should actively play the role of mediating international commercial cases, ascertaining foreign law, providing legal consulting, offering suggestions for the CICC's improvement, and participating in international rule of law exchanges and cooperation, to strengthen research on frontier topics of international rule of law, and promote mutual trust and mutual learning of the rule of law among countries. The Supreme People's Court of China will further explore practical measures to expand the functions and roles of the ICEC, and gradually build the ICEC into a first-class “international legal think tank” for the foreign-related trial system of courts across the country. All institutions of the “one-stop” platform should strengthen their awareness of cooperation, continue to expand the platform's coverage and functions, and make the platform more attractive and globally influential. The institutions involved in the “one-stop” platform should not only strengthen their internal cooperation, but also shore up their cooperation with external platforms or institutions including the BRDZ-ICLS, for International Commercial Legal Services, to realize the joint construction of mechanisms, resource sharing, and win-win results. The incorporation of some institutions of the “one-stop” platform in the BRDZ-ICLS is a good practical exploration. The next step is to establish a solid cooperation mechanism and achieve tangible results. The BRDZ-ICLS should strengthen mutual learning and exchanges with other rule of law construction platforms such as Central Legal-services Districts across China, and learn from their advanced experience to enhance its strength. It is necessary to actively introduce domestic and foreign well-known law firms, legal service institutions, pan-legal agencies, and high-end foreign-related legal professionals, provide comprehensive legal services including litigation, mediation, arbitration, legal services, and legal talent training, and establish a full-chain international commercial legal service guarantee system.

As the old saying goes, “The great vision that makes a country prosper is but the result of collective wisdom”. Let us continue to carry forward the spirit of the times of consultation, diversity, mutual benefit, and win-win in building consensus, deepening cooperation, and pioneering the future. We will work together to accelerate the high-quality development of China's diversified resolution mechanism for international commercial disputes and gradually build China into a credible commercial dispute resolution center that has international influence, so as to make legal contributions to promoting cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the reform of the global governance system!

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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.