On September 5, 2022, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) held a press conference in Beijing. Wang Chengjie, the Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of CIETAC released the Annual Report on International Commercial Arbitration in China (2021-2022) (Annual Report) at the conference. This report is the eighth Annual Report since CIETAC decided to carry out a series of research projects on the annual reports on international commercial arbitration in China in 2015, and it is also the only annual summary of the development of China’s international commercial arbitration. Xu Yanbo, the Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Secretary-General of CIETAC presided over the press conference.

Wang Chengjie said that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, the global governance system is undergoing unprecedented profound adjustments, and the rule of law has become an important part of a country’s core competitiveness. As a main method of international commercial dispute resolution, arbitration is an important means for countries to optimize the business environment and improve the soft power of the rule of law. In May of this year, CIETAC was officially included in the “List of Providers Providing Online Dispute Resolution Services” by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and only two arbitration institutions in mainland China were included in the first batch of the list. China’s International Commercial Arbitration shoulders the historical mission of maintaining the international economic, trade and investment order and improving the global governance system.

Under this background, conducting special research projects and releasing annual reports on international commercial arbitration in China every year so as to truly reflect the development status of China’s international commercial arbitration are of great and practical significance for enhancing the international credibility and influence of Chinese arbitration, assisting the construction of the foreign-related legal system, promoting the rule of law in international relations, and contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global governance.

CIETAC entrusted Renmin University of China to form a research group to compile the Annual Report. The main members of the research group included experts and practitioners from the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), the Ministry of Justice, universities and law firms. The Annual Report comprehensively analyzes the data of China’s international commercial arbitration cases in 2021 and the development of the practice of China’s rule of arbitration law from 2021 to June 2022, and simultaneously tracks the latest theoretical research developments on commercial arbitration at home and abroad. At the same time, the Civil Adjudication Tribunal No.4 of the SPC based on the most authoritative data and relevant materials to conduct a comprehensive study of the judicial review of international commercial arbitration in China, sorts out and summarized the judicial interpretations and judicial policies of commercial arbitration issued by China in 2021, and typical cases involving judicial review of arbitration cases by courts in China, and the implementation of foreign arbitral awards and relevant legal issues. In addition, the Annual Report combines the international mainstream arbitration legislation and arbitration rules to conduct research on the rules, systems and general practice for forming an arbitral tribunal, and puts forward targeted suggestions for seeking the best way to form an arbitral tribunal. It also sorts out nearly 40 typical awards on private equity fund disputes accepted by CIETAC, summarizes the status quo and consideration criteria of the division of liability in the awards of such disputes, analyzes the issue of “Sell-side Due Diligence and Caveat Emptor” from the perspective of private fund dispute resolution, and builds an incentive-compatible adjudication principle that also unifies rights, responsibilities, and benefits. The Annual Report focuses on the issue of recession of equity transfer contract and liability for breach of contract, discusses the legal basis and judgment criteria for recession of equity transfer contract, analyzes the legal consequences of recession of equity transfer contract and provides useful reference for practice. It also has specialized study on the validity of waiver of sovereign immunity clause in international arbitration, focusing on discussing the effectiveness of the waiver of immunity clause signed by sovereign states in international arbitration and relevant legal liabilities, with a view to providing intellectual support for China and relevant enterprises when they encounter similar problems in future international arbitrations.

Wang Chengjie said that CIETAC will continue to carry out and improve the series of annual report research projects to make new and greater contributions to the development of China’s international commercial arbitration cause.

Nearly 30 news media, including CCTV, China Daily, Legal Daily, China News Service, Economic Daily, Financial Times, China Trade News, China Youth Daily, Phoenix TV, and Caixin attended the press conference. Professor Du Huanfang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Dean of the Law School of Renmin University of China, Song Lianbin, professor of the School of International Law of China University of Political Science and Law, Chen Xijia, Managing Partner of ADR Chen & Chang, Yang Qiang, Partner of Lantai Partners, Qiu Lin, Partner of Long An Law Firm attended the conference as the key members of the research group and answered questions from the media. Yao Junyi, Director of the Research Institute of Arbitration of CIETAC attended the press conference. More than 10,000 people watched the press conference through live broadcast.