On February 27, 2025, a symposium on "the Role of Arbitration in Offshore-Related Disputes" jointly organized by the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ( “CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center”) and Carey Olsen was successfully held in Beijing. It attracted dozens of arbitrators, lawyers, corporate legal counsels, expert witnesses, etc. from mainland and Hong Kong, China.

(Mr. Gu Yan, Vice President of the Arbitration Court of CIETAC, delivering a welcome speech)

Mr. Gu Yan, Vice President of the Arbitration Court of CIETAC, delivered a welcome speech at the symposium. Vice President Gu Yan introduced that as the first foreign-related arbitration institution in China, CIETAC accepted 6,013 new arbitration cases in 2024, with an amount in dispute reaching CNY 188.96 billion, exceeding the CNY-100-billion mark for seven consecutive years. Among them, there were 758 foreign-related cases, with an amount in dispute of CNY 81.125 billion, and the average amount in dispute of a single case was CNY 107 million. In addition, among the new cases accepted by CIETAC in 2024, about 41% of the cases had evident foreign-related factors. The cases covered 93 countries and regions. Hong Kong, China, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and other offshore jurisdictions ranked among the top ten sources of foreign-related cases. Vice President Gu Yan also mentioned that the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC administered cases involving more than 30 countries and regions since its establishment ten years ago, which was one of the organizers of this symposium. Among these cases administered by the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC, parties from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong each accounted for about one-third, and there was also a large number of parties from traditional offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Samoa. In addition, the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC has continuously deepened the advantages of "preservice in both Hong Kong and Mainland". According to the " Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region  ", the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC has assisted parties in submitting applications for property preservation to courts in many jurisdictions including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan for many times. The average preservation amount per case reached CNY 29.49 million, and the success rate was 100%. Vice President Gu Yan emphasized that with the implementation of policies such as "Hong Kong-funded enterprises governed by Hong Kong law" and "Hong Kong-funded enterprises subject to Hong Kong arbitration", enterprises in the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area  should seize the opportunity and make full use of Hong Kong law and Hong Kong arbitration, especially the arbitration services provided by the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC.

(From left to right are Mr. Tim Haynes, a partner at the Hong Kong office of Carey Olsen, and Ms. Huang Shanshan, a senior lawyer)

During the keynote sharing session, Mr. Tim Haynes, a partner at the Hong Kong office of Carey Olsen, and Ms. Huang Shanshan, a senior lawyer, shared their professional insights on the arbitration systems of the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda, the different roles of offshore lawyers as co-counsel and experts, the interim measures systems in offshore jurisdictions, and the mutual influence between the arbitration and liquidation systems. Mr. Tim Haynes and Ms. Huang Shanshan also specifically analyzed the legal issues commonly encountered by Chinese enterprises in offshore jurisdictions.

(The audience asking questions and interacting with the speakers)

During the Q&A session, Mr. Tim Haynes and Ms. Huang Shanshan answered questions raised by the audience, such as the practical application of the "legally available funds" principle in transactions, the impact of corporate liquidation in offshore jurisdictions on the enforcement of arbitral awards, and the asset tracking and piercing the corporate veil of offshore companies during the enforcement of arbitration awards, and also exchanged ideas and discussed with the audience.

After the meeting, the audience members expressed that this symposium provided new perspectives and ideas for resolving offshore-related disputes. This symposium was chaired by Mr. Ou Jintao, the Legal Counsel of the Hong Kong Arbitration Center of CIETAC.