Delivered at the Thirty-seventh Session of the Standing Committee of 

the Thirteenth National People's Congress on October 28, 2022

By Zhou Qiang, President of the Supreme People's Court

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress:

As planned, I now, on behalf of the Supreme People's Court (the SPC), present to you the report on foreign-related trial work of the people's courts after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for your deliberation.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to foreign-related rule-of-law work. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a series of important speeches on strengthening foreign-related rule-of-law work, in which he promoted the coordinated development of domestic and foreign-related rule of law, providing a clear direction and fundamental principles for strengthening foreign-related rule-of-law work in the new era. As a result, historic achievements have been made in building foreign-related rule of law. The system of foreign-related laws and regulations has been continuously improved. The quality and efficiency of foreign-related law enforcement and adjudication have been improved. Great strides have been made in providing foreign-related legal guardrails and legal services. More talent has been recruited. All these contribute to a new chapter of building foreign-related rule of law in the new era and lay a solid legal foundation for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

People's courts' foreign-related adjudication is an important part of foreign-related legal work. It includes the trial of cases involving foreign-related factors like parties, subject matter, and legal facts in various fields ranging from criminal, civil and commercial, maritime, and intellectual property to administrative, and international judicial assistance such as the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Since cases involving Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are generally handled with reference to foreign-related trial procedures, relevant work will also be included in this report. The healthy development of foreign-related adjudication is critical to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment, build a higher-level open economic system, and establish a new international relationship characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. It will also benefit the modernization of China's system and capacity for governance.

As China's high-level opening-up has continued to deepen since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, foreign-related trials have shown new characteristics. First, the number of cases has increased significantly. The number of foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first instance accepted and heard by courts across the country rose from 14,800 in 2013 to 27,300 in 2021. Second, new types of cases keep cropping up. New types of disputes like those concerning cross-border e-commerce, bankruptcy, and mergers and acquisitions of enterprises and assets, financial derivative investment, and China-Europe Railway Express waybills have emerged due to economic growth, scientific and technological progress, and an increasingly deepened international division of labor. Trade rules and behavioral boundaries need to be made clear to protect the rights and interests of all parties in a balanced way. Third, trials have become more difficult. It is more complicated to determine jurisdiction and governing laws as an increasing number of cases involve international conflicts of jurisdiction arising from parallel proceedings in multiple countries concerning the same dispute or require the application of international conventions, customs, and laws. Fourth, the influence of cases has become wider. With parties coming from over 100 countries and regions significantly increasing public attention at home and abroad, foreign-related adjudication has contributed to the overall diplomatic work and the building of China's international image. People's courts have conscientiously implemented the requirements for the coordinated development of domestic and foreign-related rule of law, unswervingly implemented the basic national policy of opening up, and accelerated the modernization of the foreign-related adjudication system and capability. More countries and regions have been involved in China's foreign-related adjudication. There are more and more cases in which foreign parties have voluntarily chosen the jurisdiction of Chinese courts, and Chinese court judgments have been recognized and enforced by more and more countries. China has played a more important role in formulating international rules. With its enhanced global credibility and influence, foreign-related adjudication globally demonstrates China's firm determination to continue to reform and open up and is taking on an increasingly important historical role in achieving the second centenary goal.

I. The situation and achievements of foreign-related trial work since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and under the strong supervision of the NPC and its Standing Committee, the People's Courts have adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and deeply understood the "Two Establishes". The People's Courts strengthened the "Four Consciousnesses" and remained confident in the path, the theory, the system, and the culture of socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and firmly upheld the "Two Safeguards". By continuing to adhere to the party's absolute leadership over judicial work, and unswervingly following the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, the people's courts focused closely on the goal of "embodying fairness and justice in each and every judicial case" and held to the principles of serving the overall situation, putting people first in the judicial system and impartial administration of justice, hearing all kinds of foreign-related cases in a fair and efficient approach in accordance with the law, further promoting the reform of foreign-related judicial mechanisms, and strengthening development of the trial team for foreign-related cases. All these efforts contributed to improving the quality and efficiency of foreign-related trials. From 2013 to June 2022, courts at all levels concluded a total of 384,000 foreign-related and Hongkong, Macao, and Taiwan-related cases. By giving full play to the role of foreign-related trials, courts at all levels provided judicial services to accelerate the building of a new development paradigm and realize a higher-level opening up.

(1) Fully implementing a holistic approach to national security, and resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests

—— The people's courts resolutely safeguarded national sovereignty, security, and development interests by planning and promoting foreign related work in a process where both domestic and international situations were taken into consideration with development and security as top priorities.

—— Punishing foreign-related crimes in accordance with the law. In a bid to resolutely safeguard national political security, especially the security of China's state power and systems, measures were taken to crack down on the infiltration, sabotage, subversion, and separatist activities of hostile forces, and to severely punish attempts to subvert the country's political power and incitements to split the country in accordance with the law.  Crimes such as transnational and cross-border drug trafficking, telecom fraud, human smuggling, gambling and money laundering, were severely cracked down on. Active cooperation was achieved in hunting fugitive overseas officials and recovering illicit assets. Judicial interpretations were introduced to improve the confiscation of illegal gains from cases where the criminal suspects or defendants escape or die so that there would be no "safe havens" for corrupt individuals and illicit assets. Foreign-related criminal trials were strictly regulated with defense lawyers present for foreign defendants to effectively strengthen judicial protection of human rights.

—— Protecting China's overseas investment interests in accordance with the law. Foreign-related civil and commercial cases, regarding infrastructure construction, economic and trade exchanges, industrial investment, and freight transportation of enterprises going global, were adjudicated in accordance with the law. In these cases, the rights and obligations of the parties involved were accurately defined to respond to the challenges of overseas interests and risks. Judicial interpretations for the hearing of independent guarantee disputes were formulated and rules for independent guarantee transactions were unified, so as to ensure that Chinese financial institutions and enterprises participate in international economic cooperation in a well-regulated way. 

(2) Actively creating a market-oriented and law-based international business environment to serve a higher-level opening up

—— The people's courts are always firm supporters and resolute practitioners of reform and opening up and have always adhered to the principle of equitable and law-based protection in order to ensure equal litigation status and litigation rights for Chinese and foreign parties concerned as well as equality in the application of law and legal protection. All these efforts contributed to creating a market-oriented and law-based international business environment in a proactive way.

—— Equally protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign investors in accordance with the law. The people's courts have fully implemented The Foreign Investment Law and its supporting rules and regulations and formulated and improved supporting judicial interpretations. The trial of disputes with foreign-invested enterprises has entered a new stage with "The Foreign Investment Law, The Regulation for Implementing the Foreign Investment Law and judicial interpretations for the hearing of foreign-invested enterprises disputes and the Foreign Investment Law" as its main regulation system. A mechanism for trailing disputes with foreign-invested enterprises was established to improve the quality and efficiency of trials through professionalization. Cases concerning disputes with foreign-invested enterprises, including disputes of shareholder qualification confirmation, were adjudicated in accordance with the law. The pre-establishment national treatment plus negative list system was fully implemented to help stabilize the market expectations of Chinese and foreign investors.

—— Serving the development of pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port. The SPC has formulated opinions on the People's Courts providing services and guarantees to further expand opening-up, advance the construction of pilot free trade zones, the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Lin-Gang Special Area of Shanghai, and the National Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Further Opening Up the Service Sector and China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Beijing Municipality. It has also released 10 typical cases and 12 highlighted measures on serving and guaranteeing the building of pilot free trade zones. All these aim at optimizing the rule of law environment of the pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port. The people's courts at various levels have actively explored the establishment of specialized trial institutions or trial organizations in pilot free trade zones and introduced a number of innovative reform initiatives. The Enterprise Information Sharing Mechanism by the Primary People's Court of Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone of Fujian Province and the Innovative One-stop Dispute Resolution Mechanism for Foreign-related Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation by the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area (Free Trade Zone) Court were respectively selected by the State Council as the Pilot Reform Experience and the Best Practice Case in pilot free trade zones. The One-stop & Integrated Settlement Mechanism for Financial Disputes by the Beijing High People's Court was selected as the Best Practice Case in the National Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding Opening-up of the Service Sector by the Ministry of Commerce.

—— Maintaining market order with fair competition. The SPC has issued judicial interpretations and normative documents such as the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China, the Opinions on Providing Judicial Guarantees for Improving the Business Environment, and the Minutes of the National Court's Civil and Commercial Trial Work Conference, to unify the standards for the application of laws and enhance judicial transparency and predictability. The Shanghai Financial Court, Beijing Financial Court, and Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court were established with a high starting point and high standards to make financial trials more professional. The courts have fully implemented the provisions on the extraterritorial application of the new Securities Law by adopting cross-regional centralized jurisdiction over disputes of securities, futures, and other financial products where the legitimate rights and interests of domestic investors are damaged by overseas listed companies and other overseas providers of financial products and services.

—— Coordinating economic development and COVID-19 response. The SPC issued guiding opinions on trials of foreign-related commercial and maritime cases involving the COVID-19 pandemic to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment and to ensure the security and stability of the industrial and supply chains and the healthy development of the shipping market. These documents were included in the UNCITRAL Law and Case Law Database. The Nanjing Maritime Court opened a "green channel" for case filing and mediation. On this platform, the Court settled a 5-year international dispute over a shipbuilding contract in 27 days. Dalian Maritime Court used a maritime injunction to help hundreds of imported cold-chain companies solve customs clearance problems, reducing the impact of the epidemic on import and export trade. In the course of detaining and auctioning foreign ships, many maritime courts provided humanitarian assistance to foreign crew members and repatriated them safely and efficiently, providing Chinese solutions for properly handling the global issue of seafarers' shift replacement or repatriation during the pandemic and for helping shipping companies resume work and production.

—— Adhering to international treaties and respecting international practice. The SPC has formulated judicial interpretations on the application of international treaties and international practice in the trial of foreign-related civil and commercial cases, and accurately applied international treaties and practice to conclude a batch of typical cases that have rule-making significance and international influence, and help promote the progress of rule of law. The SPC has clearly clarified the relationship between the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the governing law in the case concerning a dispute over a contract for international sales of goods involving ThyssenKrupp Metallurgical Products GmbH (Germany). In the case involving a dispute over the salvage fees of "Archangelos Gabriel" owned by Archangelos Investments, the SPC clarified the application of the International Convention on Salvage, 1989 and relevant provisions of the domestic laws for the first time. The Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees were accurately applied in the retrial of the case concerning a dispute over guarantee fraud with Inmobiliaria Palacio Oriental S.A. in Costa Rica. Judicial cases in China have become an important source to enrich the practice of international law. 36 judicial cases were included in the UNCITRAL Law and Case Law Database.

—— Accurately applying the governing law. The People's Courts have followed the principle of party autonomy and determined the governing law in strict accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Choice of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relationships. Since 2013, the People's Courts at various levels have accurately applied extraterritorial laws in 542 cases involving over 40 countries and regions on six continents. For example, in the case of a dispute over the capital contribution by shareholders of Singapore's Sino-Environment Technology Group Limited, the SPC accurately applied the Singaporean law to determine the capacity for civil rights and civil conduct of foreign shareholders, which helped optimize the rule of law environment for foreign investment.  In the case of dispute over the share-holding entrustment of Sinosteel Iron & Steel Co., Ltd, the Intermediate People's Court of Suzhou City in Jiangsu province applied Ethiopian law to determine the registration of equity changes. In the case of dispute over the ship mortgage contract of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd, the Qingdao Maritime Court applied the Panamanian law to determine the validity of ship mortgage rights. In the case of a dispute over equity transfer by Kranck Gustaf Walter, the Beijing Haidian District People's Court applied Finnish law to determine the validity of the pre-purchase contract. And in the case of the foreign-related guarantee dispute of CIMB Bank Berhad (Singapore Branch), the Shanghai Financial Court ascertained Singaporean laws and settled the dispute through mediation, achieving a win-win result.

—— Advancing cross-border recognition and enforcement of judgments. Since 2013, courts across the country have concluded 7,313 cases of application for recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments by foreign courts in nearly 40 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, and Australia. The 2nd China-ASEAN Justice Forum adopted the Nanning Statement and reached a consensus on the "presumptive reciprocity" advocated by China, substantially promoting the mutual recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters among countries in the region. In trying the Gore Group Co., Ltd. case, the Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing City applied for the first time the reciprocity principle to recognize and enforce the commercial judgment as rendered by the Singaporean Court. This has greatly promoted judicial cooperation among countries along the "Belt and Road" in relevant fields. China's foreign-related civil and commercial judgments have also been recognized and enforced by courts in countries such as Germany, the United States, Singapore, Israel and South Korea. For instance, the validity of bankruptcy and restructuring order issued by the Zhejiang Haining People's Court for Zhejiang Topoint Photovoltaic Co, Ltd. was recognized by a District Court in the United States, resulting in the incorporation of the company's assets of RMB 150 million in the US into the bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings in China's court.

(3) Giving full play to the judicial functions of maritime affairs and implementing China's strategy to become a maritime power

In China, a major country in the maritime, trade and shipping industry, the trial work on maritime matters directly serves foreign trade, shipping, and marine development, and thus is important for safeguarding the country's judicial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

—— Effectively safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests. To fully exercise jurisdiction over waters under China's jurisdiction, the SPC has formulated a series of judicial interpretations on the jurisdiction of maritime litigation, the scope of cases adjudicated by maritime courts, and the trial of cases occurring in waters under China's jurisdiction.

—— Promoting marine ecological protection and marine economic development. The SPC has formulated judicial interpretations on the seizure and auction of ships, the trial of disputes over compensation for damage to marine natural resources and the ecological environment, and the trial of disputes involving crew members. Jointly with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, it introduced provisions for handling public interest litigation cases over marine natural resources and the ecological environment. The 89 typical cases of maritime trials released by the SPC have helped promote the unification of ruling standards. For instance, Tianjin, Qingdao, and Dalian Maritime Courts have tried 1,743 serial cases of the ConocoPhillips oil spill accident properly in accordance with the law, effectively safeguarding China's maritime rights and interests and the legitimate rights and interests of the people. The Shanghai Maritime Court ordered the seizure of a Japanese cargo ship owned by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. in accordance with the law to urge the ship to fulfill its obligations in a legally effective ruling of the Chinese court. The Court successfully concluded the execution of this foreign-related case of the loss of two ships released from Chung Wei Steamship Co, a cross-century case that has attracted both domestic and international attention. The Qingdao Maritime Court properly resolved the case regarding the seizure of the foreign ship M/V Nerissa to avoid huge losses for the parties involved. The foreign party, in return, renamed the ship "RESPECT" in honor of China's rule of law.

—— Vigorously promoting the construction of China International Maritime Judicial Center. The 11 maritime courts joined by the newly established Nanjing Maritime Court and 42 dispatched courts have formed a nationwide organizational system of maritime trial. This made China a country that has the largest number of maritime trial institutions and has adjudicated the largest number of maritime cases in the world. To facilitate the maritime trial work, meet the judicial needs of the public, and disseminate the voice of the rule of law in China, the SPC has regularly published the white papers on maritime trials in both Chinese and English and launched the China Maritime Trial website. The SPC has cooperated with colleges and scientific research institutions in building an international research base of maritime jurisdiction to integrate maritime judicial theory into practice. Remarkably, North Korea and South Korea agreed to resort to Shanghai Maritime Court for trial when their cargo ships collided in waters not under China's jurisdiction. The parties from Germany, Sweden, and other countries also resorted to the Qingdao Maritime Court to seize and file a lawsuit against the Liberian Ship "Lion". An increasing number of parties involved in cases that are out of China's jurisdiction have chosen China's maritime courts for trial. This has fully demonstrated the international credibility and influence of China's maritime justice.

(4) Continuously improving the International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism to support the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" initiative

Guided by the major decisions and arrangements of the Party's Central Committee, the SPC has been actively exploring new approaches to the construction of the International Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Institutions, thus making judicial services available for the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

—— Solidly promoting the building of China's international commercial courts. The SPC established the First and Second International Commercial Court in Shenzhen and Xi'an respectively and launched the CICC website in both Chinese and English. The total visits have exceeded 3.78 million, covering 149 countries and regions around the world. The SPC pioneered the International Commercial Experts Committee (ICEC) which hired 47 expert committee members from 22 countries and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. This reveals that the SPC strives to build a world-class legal think tank. Two Opinions on serving for the construction of the "Belt and Road" were rolled out, and three batches, a total of 28 typical cases involving the construction of the "Belt and Road" were released. This has improved relevant rules for the application of laws. To create a new highland for the resolution of international commercial disputes, international commercial courts have been established in cities including Suzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, Changchun, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Wuxi, and Nanning.

—— Innovating a "one-stop" diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism. To provide convenient, efficient, and low-cost legal solutions for both Chinese and foreign parties, the SPC has established a "one-stop" diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism that integrates litigation, mediation, and arbitration. An online dispute resolution platform incorporating the entire process of filing, mediation, and evidence exchange has also been built. Ten international commercial arbitration institutions and two international commercial mediation institutions were confirmed in two batches to join the platform, utilizing the mechanism to connect with overseas arbitration institutions for the first time. The Fourth Intermediate People's Court of Beijing Municipality, Suzhou International Commercial Court, and Shenzhen Qianhai Court have been exploring the construction of diversified dispute resolution platforms with their own characteristics to better integrate litigation, mediation, and arbitration to meet the judicial needs of both Chinese and foreign parties.

—— Promoting the healthy development of arbitration. To standardize judicial review procedures and promote the healthy development of arbitration, the SPC has promulgated judicial interpretations for trying arbitration-related judicial review cases and handling cases regarding enforcement of arbitral awards, established a centralized handling mechanism and an audit reporting system for arbitration-related judicial review cases, and published annual reports on commercial arbitration-related judicial review. Since 2013, courts across China have tried in accordance with the law more than 110,000 judicial review cases and concluded a number of cases with regulatory significance and major impact. For example, in trying the application of Brentwood Industries, Inc. (U.S.A) for the recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou Municipality recognized for the first time an arbitration award made by an overseas arbitration institution in the Chinese mainland as a foreign-related arbitration award. This is a landmark for China's arbitration business to open up wider to the outside world and for arbitration to go global.

—— Giving full play to the unique advantages of the diversified mediation mechanisms. In conjunction with the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, the SPC has issued a notice on accelerating the online litigation and mediation linking mechanism to resolve disputes concerning overseas Chinese and established a "head office-to-head office" online diversified dispute resolution mechanism. Nine hundred and ninety-nine ACFROC mediation organizations and 1,712 mediators have accessed the mediation platforms of the People's Courts. Considering the overseas Chinese and local conditions, the People's Court of Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province has established a diversified resolution pattern for overseas Chinese-related disputes, featuring "domestic and overseas joint mediation, online and offline multi-governance". The People's Courts in Yunnan Province have explored a "mediation mechanism on the national border". Fourteen litigation service stations on the national border have been established, equipped with 192 bilingual judges, and 585 bilingual mediators to promote the local resolution of simple disputes involving overseas Chinese. The Xinjiang High People's Court has actively promoted the development of the joint dispute resolution platform of the Khorgos China-Kazakhstan International Center for Border Cooperation. The Guangxi High People's Court, Hainan First Intermediate People's Court, and the Mediation Center of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade signed a memorandum of cooperation to improve the joint mediation mechanism for foreign-related commercial disputes.

(5) Effectively protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan compatriots, and supporting the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the development of our country and the integrated development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait

The SPC has implemented the "one country, two systems" policy, giving full play to the role of adjudication and effectively protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan compatriots. In addition, judicial services have been provided to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao and promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

—— The proper trial of cases involving Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in accordance with the law. Cases involving education, employment, medical care, elderly care, housing, transportation, tourism, and other fields have been heard in accordance with the law. The People's Courts have promoted the implementation of various policies and systems that enable Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents to study, start businesses, work, and live on the Chinese Mainland, and effectively have enhanced Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan compatriots' sense of gain, happiness, and security. Thirty-six measures to provide judicial services for deepening the integrated development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been introduced. Ten typical cases of protecting the rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots have been published. These endeavors contributed to the comprehensive and equitable protection of the legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots in accordance with the law. The Guangdong High People's Court released four batches for a total of 80 typical cases of cross-border disputes in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area), actively serving the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the development of the country. The Zhangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Fujian Province has set up a trial court for Taiwan-related cases, established a judge's chamber for the protection of the rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots, and given full play to the roles of Taiwanese jurors, mediators, and judicial liaison officers of Taiwanese enterprises to mediate and resolve Taiwan-related disputes in a timely manner. This is a practice embodying the idea of "ties of kinship between the two sides".

—— Deepening mutual legal assistance across regions. The SPC signed 13 judicial assistance arrangements and one judicial assistance document with Hong Kong and Macao to improve the regional civil and commercial judicial assistance system. Among them, three judicial assistance arrangements were signed with Hong Kong on reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments. More than 90% of civil and commercial judgments have been recognized and reciprocally enforced. The SPC has established an online connectivity platform for judicial assistance with Macao. The entire process ranging from the service of civil and commercial cases to collecting evidence can be completed online. The SPC has established a mutual assistance and preservation mechanism for arbitration proceedings with Hong Kong and Macau respectively, signed a supplementary arrangement with Hong Kong for the reciprocal enforcement of arbitration awards, and published 10 typical cases of reciprocal enforcement of arbitration awards. The SPC issued judicial interpretations to recognize and enforce civil judgments and arbitration awards of courts in Taiwan so as to promote the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of effective rulings and arbitration awards across the Taiwan Strait.

—— Serving for integrating the development of Hong Kong and Macao into the construction of the Greater Bay Area. The SPC published opinions to serve and safeguard the construction of the Greater Bay Area, the pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Shenzhen, and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, as well as deepened the reform and opening up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong modern service industry cooperation zone. The connection between the judicial rules and mechanisms has been advanced to support the construction of the Greater Bay Area. By adopting the approach of "list plus journal", the Guangdong Higher Court has promoted 46 services to ensure the implementation of the reform measures for the construction of the Greater Bay Area and provided high-quality judicial services for enterprises and residents in Hong Kong and Macao to innovate and start businesses in Guangdong Province. The SPC supports lawyers in Hong Kong and Macao to practice in the Chinese Mainland. In accordance with the law, the Futian Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province heard the first case of a Hong Kong lawyer as an agent practicing in the Chinese Mainland.

—— Further refining the diversified resolution mechanism for disputes related to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The SPC issued the Online Mediation Rules of the People's Courts, clarifying that eligible residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan may access the mediation platforms of people's courts to participate in the mediation of civil and commercial disputes involving Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The SPC built a "head office-to-head office" online litigation and mediation docking mechanism for Taiwan-related disputes with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, giving full play to the advantages of the one-stop diversified dispute resolution and litigation service system, and providing Taiwan compatriots with inclusive, equal, convenient, efficient, intelligent, and well-targeted dispute resolution services. Based on the characteristics of "one country, two systems, and three jurisdictions" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, people's courts in Guangdong Province have appointed 90 senior retired judges, commercial lawyers, and legal experts from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao as specially-invited mediators to fully participate in the mediation of cross-border commercial disputes. The Supreme People's Court supported Hong Kong to develop into a center for international legal and dispute settlement services in the Asia-Pacific region and promoted the construction of an international center for providing legal services and resolving commercial disputes in the Greater Bay Area.

—— Deepening judicial exchanges and cooperation of both sides across the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, and Macao. Communication mechanisms including exchange visits and the Cross-Strait and Hong Kong, Macao High-level Judicial Forum were improved, and new cooperation platforms including a Greater Bay Area case study base and judicial case seminars were built, deepening judicial exchanges and mutual learning. The SPC signed Minutes of Talks on Further Strengthening Judicial and Legal Exchanges and Cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, respectively, advancing in-depth judicial cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. The SPC continued to promote the cooperative education project between the National Judges College and Hong Kong and Macao universities and strengthened the training of cross-border legal talent. Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan compatriots, and overseas Chinese were selected to be people's assessors, and their participation in the practice of the country's rule of law was supported by the Supreme People's Court. An internship program for Hong Kong and Macao legal students on the Mainland was set up, and a training class for young legal talent in the Greater Bay Area was held, promoting the active participation of young people from Hong Kong and Macao in the country's rule of law construction.

(6) Further implementing the strategy of high-quality foreign-related trials, and accelerating the modernization of the foreign-related trial system and capacity.

The SPC continued to settle difficult problems through reform, further implemented the strategy of high-quality foreign-related trials, innovated and refined foreign-related trial mechanisms, and continuously improved the quality, efficiency, and judicial credibility of foreign-related trials.

—— Optimizing the jurisdiction mechanism for foreign-related civil and commercial cases. The Supreme People's Court issued a notice concerning the standards for hierarchical jurisdiction over and the centralized handling of foreign-related civil and commercial cases of first instance and encouraged most foreign-related civil and commercial cases to be settled in courts at the intermediate and basic levels and tried by a tribunal for foreign-related cases or a special collegial panel. A specialized foreign-related trial pattern characterized by "courts with specific jurisdiction, special trial courts, and professional judicial officers" was established. Courts in Beijing, Hainan and other places have established a centralized trial mechanism for foreign-related commercial cases based on local conditions. Nanning Intermediate People's Court of Guangxi and Beihai Maritime Court set up collegial panels for ASEAN-related cases to focus on ASEAN-related trade disputes and cases of admiralty and maritime commerce and to actively serve to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

—— Innovating the service mechanism of documents of foreign-related trials. The judicial interpretation on the service of judicial documents in foreign-related civil and commercial cases was revised, further clarifying the rules for and standardization of the work of foreign-related service.  The nationwide judicial assistance management platform was launched and connected to the civil and commercial judicial assistance system of the Ministry of Justice, realizing cross-departmental online forwarding, review, and inquiry of cases and effectively shortening the period of foreign-related service. People's Courts in many places formulated guidelines for the service of documents for foreign-related civil and commercial cases. Under the premise of observing the laws of the host country, these people's courts explored electronic service, referral service by the parties concerned, and service mechanisms by entrusting lawyers, notaries, and overseas Chinese groups to effectively improve foreign-related service.

—— Improving mechanisms for foreign law ascertainment. The Foreign Law Ascertainment Platform was set up, pooling the resources of five foreign law ascertainment institutions and international commercial experts to solve the difficult problem of foreign law ascertainment in the practice of foreign-related trials. During the COVID-19 pandemic, force majeure rules and cases in more than 60 major countries and regions around the world were sorted out, and seven research reports were formed and released. People's courts in many places established expert databases for foreign law ascertainment, promoted the construction of case databases for foreign law, and actively explored effective paths for ascertaining foreign law. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong launched a platform for foreign law ascertainment, and the People's Court of Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone established a three-dimensional ascertainment system characterized by "the court's independent lawful ascertainment and the participation of jurors in Hong Kong and foreign, Hong Kong, and Macao mediators in the ascertainment and the assistance of social professionals". The Chongqing Liangjiang New Area (Free Trade Zone) Court and the China-ASEAN Law Research Center jointly issued the Guidelines for the Law Ascertainment Mechanism of Countries Along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

—— Improving the cross-border litigation service mechanism. The SPC issued provisions on providing online case docketing services for parties to cross-border litigations and relying on the online service platforms of people's courts to provide parties to cross-border litigations with services such as online case filing guidance, inquiry, entrusted witness, registration, and filing. People's courts in many places explored to provide foreign parties with litigation services in English, Portuguese, Japanese, and other languages based on actual needs. People's courts of Guangdong promoted the AOL Authorized Witness Services, helping cross-border parties in 1,743 cases from 15 countries and regions with online authorized witnesses and greatly reducing the litigation costs for the parties concerned. The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court of Fujian realized the connection of five places at home and abroad through the "Smart Court Trial System in Cloud Courts" and held a trial for a cross-border, cross-province, and foreign-related private loan dispute involving overseas Chinese.

—— Improving the talent training mechanism for foreign-related trials. The Party's political building has always been put first. We have been committed to guiding court personnel through party building to secure better trials and encouraging them to take a clear political stand and continuously improve their ability to judge and understand political issues and implement political requirements. The aim is to build a revolutionary, regularized, competent, and professional judicial team to deal with foreign-related trials. The courts across China have vigorously cultivated and selected outstanding talent for foreign-related trials through special training, job rotation, and exchanges among different departments. Outstanding people were recommended to serve in international organizations and relevant national judicial organs. One was appointed by the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization of the United Nations as a judge for the first time in China's history.

(7) Implementing the requirement of taking a coordinated approach to the rule of law at home and in matters involving foreign parties, and actively participating in the construction of the normative system of foreign-related laws

Based on our judicial function, we have actively participated in foreign-related legislation, and helped in building a complete, cohesive, and complementary system of foreign-related legislation and regulation.

—— Actively assisting foreign-related legislation. We drafted the foreign-related provisions of the Civil Procedure Law in accordance with the deployment of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. We submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress a report proposing to amend the Special Maritime Procedure Law, participated in the revision of the Maritime Code, and made recommendations regarding the formulation of the Coast Guard Law and the revision of the Maritime Traffic Safety Law, promoting the improvement of a scientific and equitable maritime law system with distinctive features.

—— Improving the system of rules governing the application of foreign-related laws. We attached great importance to the unification of standards of applying foreign-related laws. Since 2013, we have formulated 31 judicial interpretations and nine normative documents on foreign-related trials, and have issued 12 guiding cases and 137 typical cases. We published the Minutes of the National Symposium on the Foreign-related Commercial and Maritime Trial Work of Courts, which provides clear and definite answers to 111 difficult issues regarding jurisdiction, litigants, service, and other topics raised in foreign-related trials, and effectively promotes the unification of the standards of judgment. The Fujian court properly decided the "Zhang Gong Zu Shi" case, which is our first case of recovering cultural relics lost overseas, and ordered the foreign defendant to return a Flesh Bodhisattva built in the Song Dynasty that was lost overseas after being stolen, setting a precedent for recovering cultural relics lost overseas through judicial means.

—— Strengthening the research on the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties. We carried out in-depth research on major issues of the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties such as the judicial safeguards for "the Belt and Road", forestalling risks of enterprises operating overseas, the judicial safeguards for the development of pilot free trade zones, and the development of the International Commercial Court. We have strengthened our research on issues such as investment arbitration and cross-border insolvency, and offered solutions in a timely manner. The Supreme People's Court has established a Belt and Road Judicial Research Center, and set up a mechanism of guidance for the regular investigation and research on the judicial safeguards for the "Belt and Road." We cooperated with institutions of higher education and scientific research to establish 15 judicial research bases for foreign-related matters, enhancing the effectiveness of the research on the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties.

(8) Deepening international judicial communication and cooperation, and promoting the building a global community of shared future

—— Adhering to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, we carried out in-depth international judicial communication and cooperation, firmly upheld the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and the fundamental norms based upon the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and constantly enhanced our discourse and influence in the global governance reform.

—— Strengthening international judicial communication. We have developed friendships with the judicial institutions of over 140 countries and regions and over 20 international or regional organizations, and signed more than 70 cooperation agreements or memoranda. More than 60 Chief Justices and presidents of foreign supreme courts have visited Chinese courts. We held large international judicial conferences such as the Meeting of Presidents and Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of the SCO Member States, the BRICS Chief Justices Forum, the China-ASEAN Justice Forum, the Conference of Presidents of Supreme Courts of China and Central and Eastern European Countries, the Top Justice Forum of Presidents of Supreme Courts of China and Portuguese-speaking countries, the World Enforcement Conference, the World Forum on Rule of Law in the Internet, the World Judicial Conference on Environment, the Forum on Rule of Law in the  Digital Economy, the Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Forum on Judicial Cooperation, and the Maritime Silk Road (Quanzhou) International Forum on Judicial Cooperation, and promoted the formation of a number of documents detailing the outcomes, effectively promoting judicial communication and cooperation, and building broad consensus on the rule of law.

—— Deepening international judicial assistance. China has concluded 170 bilateral treaties on judicial assistance with 82 countries, and acceded to nearly 30 international conventions on judicial assistance and extradition. We are in cooperation with more than 130 countries. We improved our norms of judicial extradition, and have concluded 28,000 judicial assistance cases since 2016. We actively carried out international cooperation in the field of criminal justice, strengthened international cooperation in the fields of investigation and evidence collection, extradition, handing over convicted persons, and the sealing, distraint, seizure, and return of illegal gains, and punished and prevented transnational and cross-border crimes together with other countries. The Mekong River massacre case heard by the Yunnan court has set a precedent for international cooperation in the field of criminal justice.

—— Participating in the making of international rules. Actively participating in major consultations and negotiations in the field of international law, we have played a role in the review of the implementation of 10 international conventions, the negotiation of 11 international conventions and model laws, and over 40 bilateral or multilateral judicial assistance agreements. China has put forward suggestions during the formulation of international conventions including the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters and the United Nations Cybercrime Treaty. We participated actively in the negotiation of the jurisdiction project of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to explore for the solutions to international parallel litigations. We participated in the consultation on international conventions, model laws, and model trade rules such as the conventions of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on transparency in investment arbitration, cross-border insolvency, expedited arbitration and international settlement agreements, and railway consignment notes, and the Draft International Convention on Foreign Judicial Sales of Ships and their Recognition ("the Beijing Draft"), contributing to the improvement of international commercial rules using Chinese wisdom.

—— Telling the story of the rule of law in China. We held professional conferences such as the Seminar of International Commercial Experts Committee, the China-Singapore Legal and Judicial Roundtable, the China-UK Judicial Roundtable, and the Sino-French Symposium on International Commercial Trials, and sent representatives to international conferences such as the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts and the Forum on the Belt and Road Legal Cooperation, to tell the story of the rule of law in China. We carried out in-depth judicial cooperation with international organizations including the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Bank, and the European Union, and countries including Germany, Russia, and Brazil, which vigorously promoted the mutual study in judicial civilization. Together with the Supreme Court of Singapore, we compiled and published A Compendium of China-Singapore International Commercial Cases: Curated for Their Relevance to the Belt and Road Initiative, at which time we exchanged ideas about cases and developed consensus on the Belt and Road.

To sum up, the people's courts have made remarkable achievements in foreign-related trials since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. This is essentially because of the fact that President Xi Jinping, as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party, steers this giant ship, and because of the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The people's courts accumulated some valuable experience as to foreign-related trials, which mainly includes the following. First, adhering to the absolute leadership of the CPC. The leadership of the CPC is the essential guarantee for this country's foreign-related judicial work moving forward on the right track. The historical developments we have achieved in foreign-related judicial work and the new phase we have reached in developing the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties both fully reflect the political and institutional advantages of the leadership of the CPC. Second, adhering to serving the "big picture of the country." Serving the overall interest is the mission of foreign-related judicial work. We must always view and carry out those works as part of the overall development plan of the CPC and this country, implementing the principle of equal protection of the law, actively serving the implementation of major national strategies and the opening up at a higher level. Third, adhering to the people-centered approach. The people-centered approach is the fundamental standpoint of foreign-related judicial work. We must always put the people at the first place, and always treat the realization, protection, and development of the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people as the stand-point and goal of foreign-related judicial work. Fourth, adhering to the coordination of development and security. Coordinating development and security is an important task of foreign-related judicial work. We must envisage worst-case scenarios, build up our fighting spirit, use the rule of law wisely to deal with challenges and guard against risks, uphold and practice true multilateralism, and serve to promote the construction of a global community of shared future. Fifth, adhering to reform and innovation. Reform and innovation are the inexhaustible driving force for foreign-related judicial work. We must uphold the spirit of reform and innovation, implement the high-quality strategy thoroughly, improve the system of rules governing the application of foreign-related laws, and accelerate the modernization of our system and capacity of foreign-related trial.

2. Problems and Difficulties We Are Facing in Foreign-related Judicial Work

According to the problems reflected in the investigation report of the Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress and our research and analysis, the following problems and difficulties exist in these days' foreign-related judicial work.

First, our skills and ability to serve the opening up need to be improved. Nowadays, as the profound changes unseen in centuries and the COVID-19 epidemic occur at the same time, and the economy is challenged by the counter-globalization movement, the risks and challenges we face in our work related to the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties have been soaring. Some courts are not open enough when implementing the new theory of development, serving to form new development philosophy, or promoting high-quality development, and are short of means and ways to serve the big picture of external work.

Second, our system of rules governing the application of foreign-related laws needs to be improved. We need to pay more attention to research on major frontier issues in the international law field such as the weight of international treaties in domestic law and issues about cross-border data flow, and to make suggestions to the legislature in a timely manner. Moreover, as to the unification of standards of law application, the rules of adjudication for some newly emerged types of cases are yet to be established.

Third, we need to further reform the mechanism for foreign-related trials. The mechanism for the jurisdiction of foreign-related civil and commercial cases needs to be improved. Some difficult problems exist as to service, extraterritorial investigation and evidence collection, identification of extraterritorial laws, shortening the trial period, and some other areas, for which multiple measures should be taken at once in order to solve the problems effectively. Currently, cases related to Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan are handled according to foreign-related trial procedures, which causes inconvenience for parties from Hong Kong or Macao in trial participation, the review and examination of evidence, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments made by Hong Kong or Macao courts in the mainland. This might prejudice the efficient resolution of disputes related to Hong Kong or Macao, and restrict the judiciary's ability to serve the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Fourth, our international commercial dispute resolution mechanism can be improved further. There are more things with which the International Commercial Experts Committee can help, and the "One Stop" diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism is far from perfect. China has not yet enacted its commercial mediation law, nor does it have many commercial mediation institutions that have sufficient influence at home and overseas, which makes it difficult to fulfill the people's need for diverse dispute resolution.

Finally, we need to lay more stress on the training of foreign-related legal personnel. At present, our long-term mechanisms for the selection and training of foreign-related legal personnel is not effective enough and do not meet the requirements of our growing foreign-related judicial work. To build a force of highly qualified and professional foreign-related legal personnel has become an urgent task. Some courts lack an overall plan for the training and using of foreign-related legal personnel, and do not have a sufficient number of such personnel. As difficult, complex, and unfamiliar foreign-related cases emerge, some police officers turn out to be less capable of dealing with new situations and new problems. There is still a considerable gap between the number of inter-disciplinary and international foreign-related legal personnel we currently have and the number of such personnel that would meet our needs.

3. Recommendations for the Next Step

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which has just successfully concluded, is a very important conference held at the critical moment when the whole Party and all the people of China, no matter which ethnic group they belong to, set out on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country and realizing the Second Centenary Goal. It is of great significance to inspire and mobilize the whole Party and all the people to fully build a modern socialist country, to fully promote national rejuvenation, and to seize the victory that belongs to socialism with Chinese characteristics. In its new journey in the new era, the People's Courts will adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply learn and implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party in every aspect, seriously implement the CPC Central Committee's decision and deployment of taking a coordinated approach to the rule of law at home and in matters involving foreign parties, strive to promote the high-quality development of foreign-related judicial work, effectively protect national sovereignty, security, and interests in development, better serve the opening up at a higher level, promote building a global community of shared future, and provide more effective judicial services for fully building a modern socialist country.

First, we will adhere to the leadership of the CPC, ensuring that the foreign-related judicial work is moving on the right political track. We will take the study, publicity, and implementation of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party as the primary political task for these days and the following days, deeply understand the decisive meaning of the "Two Establishments", consolidate the "Four Consciousnesses", strengthen the "Four Matters of Confidence", and strive to achieve the "Two Maintenances", consciously stand at the strategic height of the overall mission of the Party and the nation, and plan and arrange the foreign-related judicial work on a higher standard, in a broader field, and at a deeper level. We shall conscientiously implement the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Political and Legal Work, firmly adhere to the absolute leadership of the CPC in judicial work, steadfastly follow the path of the socialism rule of law with Chinese characteristics, follow the leadership of the CPC throughout the foreign-related judicial work in all aspects, fully and thoroughly implement the decision and deployment of the CPC Central Committee, and actively serve the big picture of external work of the Party and the nation. We shall implement the whole-process people's democracy, accept the supervision of the National People's Congress more consciously, report on our work in a timely manner, listen carefully to the comments and suggestions from the deputies, and constantly strengthen improve our foreign-related judicial work.

Second, we will focus on solving problems, promoting the improvement of the system of rules governing the application of foreign-related laws. We shall carry out in-depth research on issues like the extraterritorial application provisions of domestic laws, and supplement the relevant judicial interpretations and auxiliary rules. We shall pay more attention to research on hot topics and frontier issues in the international law field, consolidate our theoretical basis for the rule of law in matters involving foreign parties, and promote the improvement of the system of rules governing the application of foreign-related laws.

Third, we will further implement reform and innovation, constantly improving the quality and efficiency of foreign-related judicial work. We will further optimize the mechanism of jurisdiction for foreign-related civil and commercial cases in combination with the reform of the four-level structure of court functions and the practice of foreign-related trials in local courts. We will keep making innovations in the mechanism of foreign-related service, extraterritorial investigation and evidence collection, and identification of extraterritorial laws, truly improve the quality and efficiency of foreign-related judicial work, and protect the litigation rights of the parties according to the law. We shall promote the in-depth integration of foreign-related judicial work and the development of Smart Courts, further the use of cutting-edge technologies including Big Data, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence, construct the world's leading model of Internet judiciary with Chinese characteristics, and strive to create a higher level of digital justice.

Fourth, we will focus on achieving goals, further optimizing our international commercial dispute resolution mechanism. We will refine the code of conduct for the International Commercial Experts Committee, and make full use of its expertise. We shall adhere to the development goals of diversification, specialization, and internationalization, improve the "One Stop" diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism, and strive to make China a preferred place for international commercial dispute resolution.

Fifth, we will implement the plan for strengthening basic disciplines, paying more attention to the construction of a force of highly qualified and professional foreign-related legal personnel. We shall use long-term thinking and strengthen overall planning, and improve our mechanism for the introduction, training, selection, use and management of foreign-related legal personnel. We will build the mechanism and platform for the research and discussion of difficult, complex, and unfamiliar foreign-related cases, and promote the improvement of the overall capacity of foreign-related judicial teams. We shall cultivate and reserve a group of outstanding foreign-related legal personnel with overall and international perspectives who are familiar with both domestic laws and international laws and are good at dealing with foreign-related legal affairs.

Last but not the least, we will keep pursuing win-win cooperation, striving to start a new era of international judicial communication and cooperation. We will improve the mechanism of international judicial assistance, boost the level of information, and constantly improve the quality and efficiency of international judicial assistance. We will expand the channels for international judicial communication, optimize the mechanism of the exchange and share of precedents, the communication over the applicability of laws, and the cooperation in the training of judges, promoting mutual trust in the judicial field. We shall deepen and broaden our cooperation with relevant countries and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and the International Court of Justice, actively participate in the reform and development of the global governance system, and promote the formation of an international order that is fairer and more reasonable.

For the problems and difficulties we are facing in the foreign-related judicial work, we propose the following solutions: First of all, we must speed up the process of revising the foreign-related provisions of the Civil Procedure Law and add the revision of the Special Maritime Procedure Law into the legislative plan in due course. We need to modify the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the establishment of maritime courts in coastal cities, authorize the maritime courts to hear specific types of criminal maritime cases, and effectively safeguard China's maritime rights and interests. Second, we must push for the resolving of bottleneck problems in the operation of the International Commercial Court, and promote the increasing of the international competitiveness of China's resolution mechanism and institutions for international commercial disputes. We need to enact our own commercial mediation law in due course, take full advantage of the mediation mechanism, and provide sufficient legal basis for the vigorous development of China's resolution mechanism for international commercial disputes. Third, we must authorize the local courts in Guangdong and other places where cases related to Hong Kong and Macao are highly concentrated to try simplified civil procedures for those cases, and to simplify the proceedings for certifying the subject of litigation and obtaining authorization for Hong Kong and Macao litigants. Fourth, we must promote the development and improvement of the mechanism for the exchange of foreign-related legal personnel among the legislature, law enforcement, the judiciary, higher education institutions, research institutions, egal service institutions, and international organizations, and increase our investment in the training of inter-disciplinary and international foreign-related legal personnel.

Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary General, members and delegates attending this meeting, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has generously shown the high importance it attached to foreign-related trials by arranging this special meeting to listen to and consider the people's courts' report on foreign-related judicial work. All the courts and court cadres throughout the country are deeply moved and greatly encouraged. We will, following the tough leadership of the CPC Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as its core, and under the firm supervision of the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, deeply learn and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party, resolutely carry out the decisions and resolutions of the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, conscientiously implement the deliberations of this meeting, and further improve the quality of our foreign-related judicial work, providing powerful and supporting judicial services for our modernization with Chinese characteristics and the complete construction of a modern socialist country.

Related Link: 最高人民法院关于人民法院涉外审判工作情况的报告

*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.