To further promote economic, trade, and legal cooperation between China and Austria, a delegation from the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), led by Xie Changqing, Vice President of the CIETAC Arbitration Court, accompanied the Chinese entrepreneurs delegation headed by Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), during their visit to Austria from March 13 to 15, 2025. The delegation conducted a series of economic and trade promotion activities and legal exchanges.
The delegation of the CIETAC attended the China-Austria Economic and Trade Forum and the Promotion Conference for the 3rd Supply Chain Expo. The event was addressed by prominent figures including Ren Hongbin, President of the CCPIT , Matthias Matzneiter, Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), Florian Frauscher, Director-General of the Department of Economic Affairs, Innovation and International Policy at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy (BMAW), Gerd Berger, Executive Director of the Directorate of Sustainable Development and Economic Transformation at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and Qi Mei, Chinese Ambassador to Austria. Over 200 representatives from trade and investment promotion agencies, business associations, and enterprises from both China and Austria participated in the event, engaging in extensive and in-depth exchanges.
During her visit to Austria, Vice President Xie Changqing accompanied President Ren Hongbin in a meeting with Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The two sides exchanged views on further leveraging CIETAC’s observer role at UNCITRAL, continuing to support UNCITRAL’s initiatives, strengthening cooperation in international commercial arbitration and multilateral platforms such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and jointly advancing trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.‘
The CIETAC delegation, accompanying President Ren Hongbin during the visit, conducted research visits to Huawei Technologies Austria GmbH and CRRC ZELC Verkehrstechnik GmbH. During the inspections, the company representatives provided detailed introductions regarding their development in Austria, achievements, challenges encountered, and future prospects.
The CIETAC delegation actively engaged in exchange activities with the local arbitration and legal communities, visiting the Austrian Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC). During these meetings, both sides exchanged introductions on their respective arbitration legal practices and characteristics under the cultural and jurisdictional contexts of China and Austria. Discussions centered on strategies to efficiently advance arbitration procedural management and conduct collaborative exchanges in arbitration legal services, aiming to meet the urgent needs of business entities from both countries and ensure the stable and orderly development of bilateral trade and investment activities. These interactions significantly enhanced mutual understanding and laid a solid foundation for future in-depth cooperation in the arbitration field.
The CIETAC delegation, during its visit to Austria, engaged in extensive exchanges with local arbitration and legal professionals as well as business representatives. These interactions focused on understanding dispute resolution demands and promoting the advantages of Chinese arbitration. The fruitful outcomes are expected to enhance CIETAC's proactive role in fostering the healthy development of Sino-Austrian economic and trade cooperation. Cui Yang, Deputy Secretary-General of the CIETAC European Arbitration Centre, and Liu Zhihong, Case Manager of the CIETAC Domestic Case Division, accompanied the delegation in related activities.
