In 2021, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) has made new progress in all aspects of its work, by implementing the new development concept, drawing a new blueprint, insisting on being independent, impartial and efficient, and persevering in promoting the credibility of arbitration.

I. 2021 Work Report

1. The work of 2021 saw a new breakthrough, with the caseload and the amount in dispute recording new highs.

According to the 2021 International Arbitration Survey published by Queen Mary University of London and White & Case LLP., CIETAC ranked among the five most preferred arbitration institutions in the world. It is the first time for arbitration institution in mainland China to be ranked among the top five in the authoritative international arbitration survey report, which indicates a wide recognition of CIETAC from the arbitration community and shows the influence of Chinese arbitration.

(1) CIETAC’s caseload increased steadily, and the number of cases for the first time exceeds 4,000. Over the course of 2021, CIETAC accepted 4,071 new cases (a year-on-year growth of 12.61%), with 3,435 domestic cases, 636 foreign-related cases and 136 Belt and Road-related cases. The number of cases where both parties were non-Chinese parties was 61. 4,306 cases were concluded, with a year-on-year growth of 48.89%. The number of cases in process was 2,836 (a year-on-year decline of 9.91%). A total of 145 domain name disputes cases were accepted. Of those, 61 cases involved the .cn domain name disputes, 84 cases involved the gTLD disputes, and 140 cases were concluded.

(2) The amount in dispute has increased significantly, exceeding RMB100 billion for four consecutive years. In 2021, the total amount in dispute was RMB 123.20937 billion (a year-on-year increase of 9.88%) and the average disputed amount in each case reached RMB 30.2651 million. The amount in dispute of foreign-related cases was RMB 57.35222 billion (a year-on-year growth of 51.78%), accounting for 46.55% of the total amount in dispute, with the average disputed amount in each case reached RMB90.1764 million. The disputed amount in cases where both parties are non-Chinese parties was RMB3.66067 billion, with the average disputed amount in each case reached RMB60.01 million. Cases with disputed amount over RMB100 million totaled 182, 16 of which were cases with disputed amount over RMB1 billion.

(3) The cases were more international in nature and saw more complexity. The cases involved 93 countries and regions, of which the parties were from 74 countries and regions, covering 36 countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”. A wide range of governing law was chosen, including the law of Hong Kong, England, Netherlands, Greek, Philippines, Cambodia and Kazakhstan. In 109 cases, English, or both English and Chinese were agreed as the arbitration languages. A total of 24 cases applied the arbitration rules of other institutions and CIETAC Financial Dispute Arbitration Rules with the parties’ agreement. There were 579 cases involving multiple contracts and 980 cases involving multiple parties, accounting for 14.2% and 24% of the caseload respectively.

(4) The types of disputes were diversified, highlighted by the growth of cases in emerging industry sectors. There were 21 types of disputes in total, among which traditional types such as sale of goods, mechanical and electrical equipment, service contracts, and equity transfer continued to lead and account for a large proportion. Financial disputes have increased by more than 50%, construction projects cases have increased by 36%. The increase of disputes over franchise and entertainment industries had more than doubled. A trend of increase has also been witnessed in disputes over intellectual property, energy resources, Sino-foreign joint venture, housing, land and real estate and entrustment contract.

2. “A combination of strikes” has been launched to promote the quality and efficiency of arbitration services, new achievements have been made in deepening the reform of the case management mechanism.

(1) Efforts were made to improve the quality and efficiency of case management. The “Interim Measures for Further Improving Arbitration Efficiency” was formulated to optimize management processes, improve the award scrutiny system, and tighten supervision and management, attaining notable success.

(2) The construction of digital case management and office system was continuously developed. The electronic evidence exchange platform was launched to meet the needs of remote submission of materials and facilitate the case management. CIETAC has computerized the entire office procedure and provided modern arbitration service on “cloud”.

(3) The efficiency of case filing was promoted. In 2021, 870 cases were filed online, accounting for 21.37% of the caseload, providing efficient and convenient arbitration services for Chinese and foreign parties.

(4) The formation of tribunals was managed strictly. In 2021, 3,898 tribunals were formed. 6,298 appointments /selection of arbitrators were made. A total of 908 arbitrators, more than half on the Panel of Arbitrators, participated in the hearing of cases, of which foreign arbitrators seated in 89 cases for 96 times. In addition, there were cases where parties selected arbitrators outside the Panel.

(5) The management of arbitration procedures was carefully controlled. In 2021, over 200,000 procedural notices in English and Chinese, 154 jurisdictional decisions and 47 decisions on challenging of arbitrators were made.

(6) The difficulties in holding hearings were resolved. There were 3,772 on-site oral hearings, of which 33.02% were held outside Beijing. 434 virtual hearings were held. In 62 cases, there were parties from 19 countries and regions including the United States, the Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Russia, Belarus, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Brunei, Madagascar, Cayman Islands, Taiwan and Hong Kong participated in the hearings online. CIETAC has organized online hearings to overcome the adverse effects of the epidemic to the greatest extent possible.

(7) The draft awards were diligently scrutinized. In 2021, 4,438 draft awards were scrutinized. CIETAC brought to the attention of the arbitral tribunal issues addressed in the award on the condition that the arbitral tribunal’s independence in rendering the award was not affected. Meetings of the expert advisory committee were held for 12 times, focusing on the discussion of major and complicated cases to guarantee the fairness and impartiality of the awards.

3. New progress was made in strengthening the construction of regulations and standardized management and enhancing the credibility of arbitration and the governance efficiency.

(1) Institutional reform under the guidance of the Opinions were promoted. CIETAC has been committed to implementing the principles of the Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Perfecting the Arbitration System and Improving the Credibility of Arbitration (“Opinions”), steadily promoting the reform on internal system and regulations. CIETAC has formulated the overall plan for implementing the reform and set up the leading group to explore and develop a general approach for the reform and continue to advance institutional reform and development.

(2) The credibility of arbitration was improved through institutional construction. The Code of Conduct for Arbitrators, Rules for Evaluating the Behavior of Arbitrators, Rules of Appointment of Arbitrators, Rules of Honest and Clean Communication between Staff, Management and Service Entities (Trial), Measures for the Information Registration and Liability Investigation of Illegal Inquiry or Interference of Cases (Trial), Supplementary Provisions for Scrutiny of Draft Awards and more than ten institutional or internal documents to regulate the management of arbitrators and staff were formulate or revised. CIETAC has strictly implemented standardized management, intensified supervision to ensure arbitrators hearing the cases in accordance with laws, required case managers to perform duties with due diligence and developed an effective management, supervision and restriction mechanism.

(3) Standardized management was launched to improve internal governance efficiency. CIETAC has promulgated the Regulations on Short-term Exchange between Headquarters and Sub-Commissions to promote communications and trainings among different positions. The Guidelines for Case Manager Trainee was formulated to accelerate the construction of a competitive mechanism for attracting and cultivating talents.

4. Improving the arbitration service network and diversified dispute resolution mechanism, accelerating the formation of a new pattern of innovative development.

CIETAC has insisted on adopting diversified dispute resolution methods. In 2021, the establishment of CIETAC Xiong’an Sub-Commission has contributed to a high-quality business environment in the Xiong’an New Area. The official operation of CIETAC Hainan Arbitration Center has facilitated the high-quality development and high-level opening of the Hainan Free Trade Port. CIETAC took the lead in establishing CIETAC Shanghai International Arbitration Center for Securities/Futures and Financial Disputes, actively exploring the building of arbitration mechanism in the capital market, and navigating pilot projects of arbitration in the securities and futures industry. The publish of the Practical Guidelines for the Application of the Mainland and Hong Kong <Preservation Arrangements> in Cases Accepted by CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center aimed to promote the development of the dispute resolution mechanism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As one of the first batch of arbitration institutions to be included the “one-stop” international commercial diversified dispute resolution mechanism of the Supreme People’s Court, CIETAC has actively participated in the construction of the “one-stop” international commercial diversified dispute resolution platform. CIETAC Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Wang Chengjie was appointed as Chairman of the Asia Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre, actively participating in the management of international organizations and promoting the protection of internet intellectual property. CIETAC has signed strategic cooperation agreement with China Centre for Promoting SME Cooperation and Development, established and improved the bridging of mediation-arbitration mechanism, in order to better meet needs of SMEs for diversified dispute resolution. CIETAC has provided more cost-effective, convenient and diversified services. The first case to apply CIETAC Construction Project Disputes Review Rules was successfully resolved, which involved a project of over RMB10 billion and RMB2.6 billion in dispute, drawing wide attention from the construction industry.

5. Building a high-level international professional team of arbitrators, exploring new ways to cultivate foreign-related legal talents.

(1) CIETAC has successfully renewed its Panel of Arbitrators and made great efforts to improve the global structure and professional level of the arbitrator team. The Panel of Arbitrators currently has 1,698 arbitrators, including 1,215 arbitrators from mainland China, which for the first time fully covered all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in mainland China; 483 arbitrators from 85 foreign countries, Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan, including 47 arbitrators from countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”. The team of arbitrators became more international, authoritative, professional and covered more industries, which can better meet the needs of the parties for high-quality and efficient arbitration services. A series of new arbitrators’ certificate presentation and training activities were held in six cities including Beijing and Shanghai, appealing to the sense of honor and mission of the arbitrators. CIETAC has always been dedicated to improving arbitrator selection mechanism, training responsible arbitrators, and promoting the engagement of new arbitrators and foreign arbitrators.

(2) CIETAC developed training mechanisms for foreign-related legal talents, raising highly-competent legal talents with ability and integrity. A series of course on international investment arbitration were hosted for over 400 students in the first class from Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China. This 8-week training course was generally appreciated for the systematic, professional, practical and innovative contents. CIETAC has further promoted cooperation with 6 universities including Peking University, Renmin University of China, University of International Business and Economics, running joint master programs or serving as joint tutors. The second CIETAC Cup for Investment Arbitration was successfully held, which was also the first pre-moot for the renowned international investment arbitration moot court held in China. 39 teams from 33 law schools and universities across the country signed up for the competition. 71 professionals in investment arbitration, including arbitrators, professors, and lawyers from different countries and regions were invited to seat as arbitrators and judges. The 19th CIETAC Cup International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court was successfully held. This year, the competition attracted nearly 800 participants from 75 teams, and for the first time, teams of law schools from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Malaysia participated in the moot. CIETAC had the honor of inviting over 200 arbitrators from 22 countries and regions to serve as judges in the competition. More than 300,000 people watched the live broadcasts of the final and the competitions. The scale and the level of internationalization of the competition reached new highs, further extending its influence over the world. CIETAC also organized the pre-moot training courses——“Voice of CIETAC Cup”. The 5 live broadcasts of the courses were watched over 50,000 times online. The CIETAC Cup Alumni Association was officially launched on the occasion of the 19th CIETAC Cup. It brought together contestants from the past 20 tournaments, gathered the power, exerted the effect of talent accumulation, and promoted the construction of foreign-related legal talent teams.

6. Strengthening the international communication of the experience in China’s rule of law, elevating the opening-up to a new level.

(1) Influential brand activities to promote the development of international arbitration were hosted. The series of activities of the 9th “China Arbitration Week” were successfully held. A total of 39 online and on-site seminars were held in Canada, Spain, Austria, Ivory Coast and more than 20 cities across China, further extending the influence of “China Arbitration Week”. The 2021 China Arbitration Summit and the 2nd Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Forum were successfully held. Around 200 representatives from major arbitration institutions, judges, arbitrators, lawyers, scholars, industrial and commercial practitioners at home and abroad attended the Summit on site. The livestream of the Summit received 2.412 million audiences from nearly 40 countries and regions online and has become a high-level event for the communication of international arbitration. CIETAC further launched the Cooperation Mechanism of the Beijing Joint Declaration of the Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions at the Forum, which was signed by 32 foreign arbitration institutions and organizations and 15 domestic arbitration institutions, marking the progress made by the “Belt and Road” arbitration cooperation mechanism. This year, together with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”), CIETAC successfully held the CISG@40 Celebration Conference, showing the rich experience of CIETAC in applying the Convention, and has been highly recognized by the international community. “Disputes and ADR For Contracting Parties Engaged in Belt and Road Initiative Projects” co-hosted by CIETAC and Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) was held to explore new opportunities for dispute resolution services in both China and ASEAN. Information booths were set up to promote CIETAC arbitration service at China International Import Expo, China International Fair for Trade in Services, China Import and Export Fair, etc. CIETAC has held more than 100 online and on-site seminars, panel discussions and other activities around the world, relying on its sub-commissions/centers to extend the influence of Chinese arbitration and accelerate the construction of a new development landscape.

(2) Extensive media publicity and promotion were carried out, raising public awareness of arbitration and law. CIETAC has participated in the production of the second season and the international version of “Arbitration in China”, showing the development of arbitration in China along with the overall development of the country and the world. In 2021, CIETAC published 241 pieces of news in both Chinese and English through the official website, and 422 pieces of news through various channels such as WeChat official accounts. CIETAC received interviews from multiple media platforms such as Legal Daily, Democracy and Legislation, and published over 10 professional articles introducing international arbitration and the development of arbitration in China Business Law Journal and Asian Legal Business (ALB), widely advertised the arbitration system to arbitration and business communities at home and abroad.

7.Serving as the think tank on foreign-related rule of law, contributing to the formulation of international rules.

In 2021, CIETAC International Arbitration Institute was formally established, committed to creating new and comprehensive research platform with four-pronged mission, i.e., the integration of arbitration teaching, the cultivation of arbitration talent, the arbitration scientific research, and the construction of rule of law of arbitration. CIETAC has cooperated with the legislative amendments and raised active suggestions, proposing over a hundred opinions and suggestions on the revision of the Arbitration Law to the authorities and providing more than 10 written suggestions for various legislative revisions. CIETAC also participated as an observer in the Working Group of UNCITRAL for 5 times, participating in discussions on topics such as arbitration and mediation/dispute resolution, reform on the dispute resolution mechanism between investors and host states and e-commerce. CIETAC has always played an active role in the formulation and revision of international rules and regulations, dedicated to promoting the influence and the voice of China in international community. CIETAC also took part in key project of the National Social Science Fund researching on the topic of “Legal Issues of Overseas Investment Promotion and Protection” and the compilation of the university textbook “the Practical Course of Foreign-related Laws (English)”, organized research and publication of “Study on International Arbitration System in Countries Along the Belt and Road”, “China International Commercial Arbitration Annual Report”, “Annual Report on Foreign-related Arbitration”, “Arbitration and Law (quarterly)” and other research topics, books and journals. The book “The Application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods in Chinese Arbitration” which was researched and compiled by CIETAC, was included in the UNCITRAL Law Library, contributing Chinese wisdom to the study of international arbitration theory and practice.

II. 2022 Work Plan

CIETAC will stay true to its original aspiration, keep the sense of mission, responsibility and urgency, aiming to become the first-class international arbitration institution with credibility, authority, wide recognition and influence, and make further achievements in the new era and on the new journey.

1. Consolidate the foundation for career development and promote the high-quality development of arbitration.

(1) CIETAC will promote institutional reform and stimulate innovation. In accordance with the requirement of the Opinions, CIETAC will continue to promote the reform of its internal governance, promote the establishment of a mechanism and system that conforms to international arbitration practice and conventions, meets the needs of parties, and stimulates institutional innovation and development.

(2) CIETAC plans to deepen the reform of management system and provide high-quality and efficient arbitration services. CIETAC will continue to improve the efficiency and quality of case management, accelerate the construction of the digital institution, increase the governance capacity, and enhance the credibility with standardized system and effective management.

(3) CIETAC will strive to maintain the advancement of arbitration rules and perform the function of think tank. CIETAC will research on the revision of the arbitration rules to be professional, improve the arbitration service, in order to meet the diverse needs of parties from home and abroad. Research on arbitration theory and practice will be conducted and more publications on international arbitration will be issued as an effort to improve the overall development of arbitration legal system in China.

(4) The professionality of arbitrators and case managers will be enhanced to guarantee further career development. CIETAC will make efforts to raise the level of internationalization and specialization of arbitrators, and improve the service in key industries. A high-quality and professional team of case managers will be built by exercising supervision on their professional ethics and behaviors.

2. Provide better services for the new landscape and take arbitration services to a new height.

(1) CIETC will adhere to the domestic and international dual circulation, and coordinate the development of arbitration in the domestic and international market. Efforts will be made to increase the publicity and promotion regarding key industries such as trade and investment, finance, construction, carbon trading, intellectual property, and digital economy, and continue to expand the scope of services.

(2) New growth points in key industries, such as securities and futures market, will be explored. CIETAC will accelerate the establishment of securities and futures arbitration centers and the construction of supporting systems to provide high-standard and professional dispute resolution services for the prevention of financial risks and the sound development of the securities and futures industry.

(3) Multiple measures will be launched to build a higher level “opening-up”. As an effort to forge ahead to a new level of arbitration development, CIETAC will provide high-quality and high-standard services to facilitate the “Belt and Road”, take an active part in the construction of the Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District, seize new opportunities under the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership”, and explore the integrated development for dispute resolution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

3. Strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, create the image of rule of law in China.

(1) Extensive international exchanges and cooperation will be carried out to tell the stories of China. CIETAC hopes to develop more friends in international arbitration community, and will continue to organize major events such as China Arbitration Week, China Arbitration Summit, CIETAC Global Arbitrator Conference, “CIETAC Cup” International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court, and International Investment Arbitration Summit to display the achievements of the rule of law in China.

(2) CIETAC will actively participate in international arbitration governance and raise the voice of China. CIETAC will always be an energetic participant in the relevant work of UNCITRAL and other international organizations, raise the voice of China, make contributions, and speak up in the field of international dispute resolution and the formulation of international arbitration rules.

4. Build the credibility of arbitration, enhance supervision mechanism and risk prevention system.

CIETAC will strengthen the supervision and management of the arbitrators and establish strict discipline to ensure that cases are heard in an honest, fair and lawful manner. In order to improve the efficiency and capability of internal governance, it is necessary to reinforce the awareness of risk prevention, specify and refine the management systems, and persevere with integrity.

Boundless is the ocean where we sail with the wind. In the new year, CIETAC will keep pace with the time, work unremittingly and diligently, strive to write a new chapter, and forge ahead together into the future!