On the afternoon of March 9, 2023, Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), and the delegation were invited to visit the First Circuit Court of the Supreme Court (First International Commercial Court) at its new site in Qianhai for a seminar. Mr. Zhao Jinshan, Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court (the First Circuit Court), and Head of the First International Commercial Court, presided over the seminar and related activities.

[View of the new site of the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court (First International Commercial Court)]

The First Circuit Court was established on January 28, 2015, in Shenzhen to accept cases that should be heard by the Supreme People's Court within the four provinces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. On June 29, 2018, the First International Commercial Court was inaugurated in Shenzhen. The establishment of the International Commercial Court of the Supreme Court is a major initiative to strengthen international rule of law cooperation in the new era and to provide fair and efficient judicial services and rule of law protection for the construction of "One Belt, One Road". The First International Commercial Court is the "front-runner" in the reform and innovation of the Supreme People’s Court, and plays an important role in providing judicial services and guarantee for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is an important economic supporting area of the Maritime Silk Road.

[Secretary General Wang Chengjie and CIETAC delegation visited the First Circuit Court (First International Commercial Court)]

Secretary General Wang Chengjie and CIETAC delegation visited the new site of the First Circuit Court (First International Commercial Court) in Qianhai. Li Yixing, Deputy Director of the General Office, elaborated on the layout of the courtrooms and the modern facilities and equipment. In particular, he introduced the design concept of intelligent, humanized and functional diversification of the courtrooms and offices.

At the seminar, Secretary General Wang Chengjie expressed his gratitude to the First Circuit Court (the First International Commercial Court) for its invitation as the first member organization of the "one-stop" diversified settlement of international commercial disputes. Secretary General Wang briefed on the history of development of CIETAC over the past 60 years, as well as the team of arbitrators and the international cooperation of CIETAC. Secretary General Wang said that the Supreme People’s Court has long been supportive for the work of CIETAC, and CIETAC has maintained close communication with various functional departments of the Supreme People’s Court. As a member of the "one-stop" international commercial dispute resolution mechanism of the Supreme People’s Court, CIETAC has been dedicated to playing an active role in building the “one-stop” platform, and is willing to share resources such as legal experts, foreign law identification and international cooperation with the First Circuit Court (First International Commercial Court), and to seek common development. Secretary General Wang also expressed his expectation to continue to strengthen cooperation with the First Circuit Court (First International Commercial Court) in strengthening international commercial law communications and jointly promoting the dissemination of international rule of law.

Deputy Chief Judge Zhao Jinshan briefed on the history of the foundation of the First Circuit Court (the First International Commercial Court). He said that the Supreme People’s Court has been supporting the development of arbitration by improving the docking mechanism between the litigation and arbitration, sorting out typical cases and working closely with arbitration institutions for mutual support. He further noted that there is much room for the cooperation between the First Circuit Court (the First International Commercial Court) and CIETAC in serving the construction of the Greater Bay Area. The two sides can strengthen cooperation in terms of enhancing resource sharing, promoting discussion and exchanges, implementing the rule docking and mechanism connection of the “one-stop” dispute resolution mechanism, and conducting further research on the identification of extraterritorial laws. In this sense, litigation and arbitration can play their respective advantages to better serve the economic development and provide rule of law services and guarantee for the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area.

[CIETAC delegation had a discussion with the First Circuit Court (First International Commercial Court)]

During the seminar, both sides expressed their expectation for further communication and discussion, and reached a consensus on jointly promoting the construction of the rule of law in the Greater Bay Area, and jointly building the highland for international commercial dispute resolution.

Dai Yiting, Senior Judge of the Third Rank, Ma Yunpeng, Director of the General Office and Li Yixing, Deputy Director of the General Office attended the seminar. Gu Yan, Vice President of the Arbitration Court of CIETAC, Li Xiaoguang, Secretary General of CIETAC South China Sub-commission, and Jin Xi, Deputy Secretary General of CIETAC South China Sub-commission, joined the seminar.