On September 18, 2020, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ("CIETA") held a press conference in Beijing and officially released the Chinese and English version of "China International Commercial Arbitration Annual Report (2019-2020)". The "Annual Report (2019-2020)" is the sixth annual report completed and published by CIETAC since the decision of carrying out a series of research work on China International Commercial Arbitration Annual Report in 2014. It is the only annual summary of the dynamic development of Chinese international commercial arbitration theory and practice so far.

The Annual Report (2019-2020) was announced being released by Wang Chengjie, Vice Director and Secretary-General of the CIETAC. He introduced that the world today was undergoing major changes unseen in a century, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation was at a critical period. With the tortuous development of globalization and the advent of major changes in the international situation, changes in the global governance system and international order had accelerated. As the main method of international commercial dispute resolution, international commercial arbitration was an important method for countries to optimize the business environment and enhance the soft power of the rule of law. In this context, conducting special research on the theory and practice of international commercial arbitration in China, and regularly publishing research reports to reflect the development status of related fields in our country in real time, summarizing experience, and sorting out problems were of important practical significance for promoting the continuous development of our country's international commercial arbitration theory research and practice, enhancing Chinese arbitration’s credibility, international influence and competitiveness, and promoting further development of the commercial arbitration legal system and arbitration practice with Chinese characteristics.

Wang Chengjie introduced that the "Annual Report (2019-2020)" research team entrusted Renmin University of China Law School to take the lead. Scholars, senior arbitrators, lawyers, judges and other legal practitioners from universities, arbitration institutions, the Supreme People's Court and law firms participated in the drafting of the report. The report analyzed and compared the data and characteristics of cases accepted by CIETAC and other well-known domestic and international commercial arbitration institutions in 2019, and closely followed the new developments in the field of China's international commercial arbitration theoretical research. It also discussed and sorted out the situation and problems found in the judicial review of international commercial arbitration by courts at all levels. The report studied the latest development of Incoterms®2020 and its application in China, and made special observations on key issues of legal and arbitration practices in equity transfer and construction project disputes, and formed highlights of the results. During the drafting of the annual report, the global outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic occurred. The research team also paid great attention to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on commercial activities, especially international commercial activities. For example, in the chapter "Hot issues in construction engineering law and arbitration practice", it provided hints, countermeasures and suggestions for possible disputes in the field of construction engineering affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, and how to actively respond to these disputes, which fully reflects the strong timeliness of the research.

Wang Chengjie finally stated that the series of annual report research work would continue to be carried out and improved in the future, to make greater contributions to the development of China's international commercial arbitration.

The press conference was hosted by Gu Yan, Vice President of the CIETAC Arbitration Court. More than 20 news media including CCTV, Legal Daily, China News Service, China Trade Daily, Economic Daily, and Phoenix Satellite TV attended the conference. The three main members of the research team, Mr. Dong Xiao, Partner of Anjie Law Firm, Mr. Sun Wei, Partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm, and Mr. Chen Fu, Partner of Beijing Tongshang Law Firm, attended the conference to answer questions from the media.

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[News Live Room] "China International Commercial Arbitration Annual Report (2019-2020)" released. Last year, the total amount in dispute of national arbitration cases increased by 9.3% year-on-year

https://tv.cctv.com/2020/09/18/VIDEAe2qtZDRvDPAEOCjS9iA200918.shtml

https://tv.cctv.com/2020/09/18/VIDEAe2qtZDRvDPAEOCjS9iA200918.shtml