(Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Roundtable Forum Opening Session)

On November 6th and 7th, the Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Roundtable Forum (“Roundtable Forum”) was held in Beijing. The Forum was co-hosted by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) and eight world-renowned arbitration institutions including ICC International Court of Arbitration (“ICC”), American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), German Arbitration Institute (“DIS”), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”), Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (“SCC”), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”), Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (“CRCICA”), Vienna International Arbitration Centre (“VIAC”).

(Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Roundtable Forum Opening Session)

Lu Pengqi, Vice Chairperson of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (“CCPIT”), Anna JOUBIN-BRET, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”), Su Wei, Deputy Secretary General of National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) attended and addressed the opening session. Donald DONOVAN, Honorary President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (“ICCA”), attended the opening session. Wang Chengjiem, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC, presided over the opening session.

(Opening Remarks by Vice Chairperson of CCPIT)

Lu Pengqi, Vice President of the CCPIT, said in his opening remarks that high-quality and efficient legal services are important guarantee for the stable and long-term development of the Belt and Road Initiative. China is building a new system of an open economy at a higher level and taking an active part in the reform and development of the global economic governance system. As China's largest trade and investment promotion organization and chamber of commerce, the CCPIT will make active efforts to deepen reform, expand opening-up and promote economic and social development in China. CIETAC is one of the world's major permanent commercial arbitration institutions, also as the earliest foreign-related arbitration institution established in China. CIETAC’s arbitral awards have been widely recognized and enforced worldwide, and its independence and impartiality have been trusted and recognized by both Chinese and foreign parties for 63 years since its establishment. He expressed the hope that the international arbitration community should build further consensus, jointly explore closer institutionalized cooperation, seek for the road of future common development and prosperity of international arbitration, and make positive contributions to building an open cooperation, open innovation, open and shared world economy, and to the healthy, stable and sustainable development of the world economy.

(Opening Remarks by Anna JOUBIN-BRET, Secretary of the UNCITRAL)

Anna JOUBIN-BRET, Secretary of the UNCITRAL, said in her opening remarks that the UNCITRAL is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law, aiming at continuously removing legal barriers in the field of international trade by promoting the compatibility and unity of national laws..The UNCITRAL hoped that arbitration and mediation organizations would continuously improve their impartiality and credibility by providing arbitration and mediation services. The UNCITRAL hoped that the arbitration and mediation institutions would raise issues worth noticing and discussing so as to further promote the unity of international arbitration and mediation, and improve the alternative dispute resolution mechanism. For example, there are still many inconsistencies in the practices of international arbitration procedure, which requires the exchange and communications of international arbitration industry. The development of digital economy has made an important impact on international trade and investment, the Belt and Road construction and dispute resolution mechanism, which requires joint efforts in coping with challenges and discussing solutions. With the signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation and the increasing importance of arbitration and mediation in dispute resolution, she hoped that the diversified dispute resolution mechanisms, including arbitration and mediation can be promoted and developed together.

(Opening Remarks by Su Wei, Deputy Secretary General of National Development and Reform Commission )

Su Wei, Deputy Secretary General of the NDRC, said in his opening remarks that over the past 6 years, the joint construction of “Belt and Road” has yielded fruitful results. As the Belt and Road Initiative enters the fast track of high-quality development, the practical cooperation between countries is deepening, the international economic exchanges and activities are becoming increasingly frequent, and transnational commercial disputes will inevitably increase. It evokes the need for the Belt and Road countries to strengthen legal cooperation, to assist parties of international commercial disputes to resolve disputes more efficiently and flexibly, and to create a relatively stable legal environment for the construction of the Belt and Road. International arbitration has become an important way to resolve international disputes, remove barriers in investment and trade, and maintain the international legal order. He hoped that all the relevant parties could work together to promote the coordination of international commercial law and create a fair and just business environment, to conduct business exchanges and build a new platform for international cooperation on the rule of law, to strengthen cooperation in talents cultivation, to provide high-quality arbitration legal service, and to promote international arbitration to play a greater role in improving the Belt and Road business and legal environment.

(Announcement and Releasing of the Beijing Joint Declaration by Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC)

In the opening session, General Wang Chengjie announced the Beijing Joint Declaration of the Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions (“the Beijing Joint Declaration”) agreed by over 40 Chinese and foreign arbitration institutions including the ICC, DIS, the HKIAC, the SCC, SIAC, CRCICA, and VIAC. The declaration expressed the determination of all relevant parties to accelerate the establishment of closer cooperative relations in international arbitration, to uphold the concept of open, shared and service-oriented development, to strengthen cooperation, enhance dialogue and develop the Belt and Road arbitration mechanism. The declaration stresses that all the signing members will jointly explore the advantages and coordination of arbitration, mediation, litigation and other dispute resolution methods through the integration of arbitration concepts and the exchange of arbitration experience, and promote the application of diversified dispute resolution worldwide. All signing members agree to adhere to the principle of openness and sharing, and welcome more international dispute resolution institutions to participate in signing the Beijing Joint Declaration, so as to form broader and stronger multilateral cooperation and move forward from localization to more open regionalization and even globalization. The Declaration promises to uphold the concept of mutual respect, equal dialogue, and the principles of exchanges, mutual learning, joint communication, joint contribution and shared benefits. It aims at setting up the flag of the Beijing Joint Declaration, drawing a blueprint for cooperation together, turning the vision into reality, and working together to promote international arbitration towards a better future in the Belt and Road construction.

When Secretary General Wang Chengjie finished the announcement, the audience broke into a long and warm applause. The participating institutions and representatives expressed their congratulations and appreciation on the official announcement of the Beijing Joint Declaration and looked forward to its taking root and playing an active role under Belt and Road Initiative.

(Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Roundtable Forum Site)

Over 20 arbitration experts from home and abroad including Rimsky YUEN, Former Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong, Chiann BAO, Vice President of the ICC, Ho Won LEE, President of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (“KCAB”), Nikolaus PITKOWITZ, Vice President of the VIAC, Georgia QUICK, Vice President of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (“ACICA”), Maciej JAMKA, Vice President of the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce (“SAKIG”), Rolf TRITTMANN, Head of Advisory Board of the DIS. Leng Sun CHAN, Deputy Chairman of SIAC, Meng Gang, Deputy Director General of the Law and Compliance Department of China Development Bank, Ana STANIC, Founder of E&A Law and Member of the Permernant Court of Arbitration in the Hague (“PCA”), Rana SAJJAD, President of the Center for International Investment & Commercial Arbitration (“CIICA”), Yu Tengqun, Vice President and General Counsel of China Railway Group Ltd., Qin Yuxiu, General Counsel of China State Construction Engineering Co., Tao Jingzhou, Managing Partner of Dechert LLP China Practice, Liu Jingdong, Professor at CASS, Jose Maria ALONSO PUIG, President of the Madrid Bar Association (“ICAM”), David BUTLER, Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (“AFSA”), Marcela FILLOY, Member of the Board of Directors, Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Costa Rican Bar Association (“CAM”), and Arthur Dong, Partner of AnJie Law Firm attended the forum and made speeches. There are hundreds of attendees including representatives of major arbitration institutions from more than 20 countries and regions, and arbitrators, experts, lawyers and businessmen.

On the Roundtable Forum, the attendees had active interactions and heated discussions on hot topics including the Belt and Road and arbitration institutions, arbitration facilitating financial and infrastructure construction, arbitration and third-party market cooperation, and expressed consensus on further strengthening international commercial arbitration exchanges and deepening international arbitration cooperation.

(Session I: Belt & Road and Arbitration Institutions)

(Up to down, left to right: Rimsky YUEN, Former Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong, Chiann BAO, Vice President of the ICC, Ho Won LEE, President of the KCAB, Nikolaus PITKOWITZ, Vice President of the VIAC, Georgia QUICK, Vice President of the ACICA, Maciej JAMKA, Vice President of the SAKIG, Rolf TRITTMANN, Head of Advisory Board of the DIS.)

Countries along the Belt and Road stretch over the Eurasian continent, with huge differences in legal culture and stages of legal development. Diverse sources of law and jurisdictions are involved with large difference in arbitration practices. From the perspective of their own national arbitration and judicial system, the attendees introduced the role played by their  arbitration institution in the Belt and Road dispute resolution, briefed about their representative arbitration practice and achievements with vivid details, shared their experience of promoting the development of the Belt and Road dispute resolution mechanism, and proposed on further promoting arbitration as the method of the Belt and Road disputes resolution.

(Session II: Arbitrating Serving Belt & Road Finance and Infrastructure Construction)

（Up to down, left to right: Leng Sun CHAN, Deputy Chiarman of SIAC, Meng Gang, Deputy Director General of the Law and Compliance Department of China Development Bank, Ana STANIC, Founder of E&A Law and Member of the PCA, Rana SAJJAD, President of the CIICA, Yu Tengqun, Vice President and General Counsel of China Railway Group Ltd., Qin Yuxiu, General Counsel of China State Construction Engineering Co.）

With the increasing connectivity of the Belt and Road, arbitration will play a more important role in facilitating trade, investment, finance and infrastructure construction. Illustrated with their own rich experience in arbitration practice, the speakers conducted thorough analysis and practical discussion from aspects of the Belt and Road construction and development of financial service system, Belt and Road infrastructure construction challenges and solutions, the approaches of preventing risks and lowering costs of dispute resolution, the ways of making arbitration serving the Belt and Road finance and infrastructure construction disputes better respectively.

(Session III: Arbitrating and Third-party Market Cooperation)

（Up to down, left to right: Tao Jingzhou, Managing Partner of Dechert LLP China Practice, Liu Jingdong, Professor at CASS, Jose Maria ALONSO PUIG, President of the ICAM, David BUTLER, Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of the AFSA, Marcela FILLOY, Member of the Board of Directors, Arbitration and Mediation Center of the CAM, Arthur Dong, Partner of AnJie Law Firm.）

Third party market cooperation has become a new pattern of the Belt and Road. However, the characteristics of wide range, multi-factor, high degree of freedom and high complexity in third-party market cooperation call for the continuously deepening and improving of the Belt and Road dispute resolution service and guarantee mechanism. Focusing on the topic of third-party market cooperation and the development of international arbitration, the attendees introduced the important relationship between the Belt and Road construction, third-party market cooperation and international arbitration, the inclusiveness and internationality of arbitration and its possible role in third-party market cooperation, and shared their views and thoughts respectively.

The sharing of Chinese and foreign experts won warm applause from the attendees, which deepened the legal exchanges among countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

(Closing Remarks by Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC)

The forum entered the closing session in a sharing atmosphere. Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC, addressed a brief closing speech. Secretary General Wang Chengjie pointed out that CIETAC has been dedicated to  actively promoting exchanges and cooperation in international arbitration law, enhancing the cultivating of talents of international arbitration law, promoting diversified dispute resolution mechanism, with the open and inclusive attitude, sharing development opportunities with the Chinese and foreign arbitration industry, promoting the construction of international law, building a more stable fair and transparent international business environment. With the deepening of economic globalization and construction of the Belt and Road, there emerge new development opportunities and important opportunities in international arbitration. CIETAC is willing to work with the international arbitration legal and business community to continuously enhance friendly exchanges and cooperation, strengthen practical cooperation among institutions, widely publicize the concept of international arbitration and continuously promote the wide application of international arbitration in dispute resolution. Guyan, Gu Yan, Vice President of CIETAC Arbitration Court presided over the closing session.

(Gu Yan, Vice President of CIETAC Arbitration Court, presided over the closing session)

The Roundtable Forum, is the first forum adopting the concept of  jointly discussing , building and sharing under the Belt and Road Initiative. It is also a pioneering event in international arbitration and has received positive response and reached important consensus among Chinese and foreign arbitration industry. During the forum, CIETAC also signed cooperation agreements with 7 international arbitration institutions and organizations from countries along the Belt and Road, further strengthening the institutional cooperation between the two sides and making positive efforts to promote the international arbitration exchange of  under the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The Roundtable Forum is fruitful and a complete success.