In order to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between China and South Africa in the field of dispute resolution and foster the development of economic and trade cooperation, on February 20, 2025, during the visit to South Africa with a delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs led by Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) delegated representatives to visit the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) and the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Center in Johannesburg (CAJAC Johannesburg), engaged in discussions with Advocate Michael Kuper SC, Chairman of AFSA and of CAJAC Johannesburg, Andile Nikani, CEO of AFSA, and Deline Beukes, CEO of CAJAC Johannesburg.

Brad Wang, Deputy Secretary General of CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center, shared the recent case statistics of CIETAC, the latest developments of the CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center, and significant measures taken by CIETAC in recent years to enhance cooperation in dispute resolution between China and Africa. Mr. Kuper introduced the operational status and development of AFSA and CAJAC Johannesburg in recent years. Both sides had vigorous discussions about the demand for dispute resolution by Chinese and South African enterprises, as well as the characteristics and advantages of arbitration as an alternative to litigation in resolving economic and trade disputes between the two countries.

On February 21, Deputy Secretary General Brad Wang visited Kingsbourne, the renowned South African law firm specializing in construction and engineering, and met with CIETAC construction and engineering dispute review expert Mark Hammick, CIETAC arbitrator Mahadeva Gopinath, and arbitration expert Johan Wasserman from The Maisels Group, sharing views on how to effectively utilize CIETAC arbitration and the construction dispute review system to economically and conveniently resolve construction-related disputes between China and South Africa.

During this visit, the CIETAC delegation also signed a cooperation agreement with South African arbitration institutions, strengthening cooperation in terms of arbitration rules, case management, and arbitrator exchanges, and promoting the development of commercial dispute resolution mechanisms between China and South Africa.