On September 25, 2024, the 8th TANG Lecture, organized by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”), was held in Beijing as one of the key activities of China Arbitration Week. Nearly 200 guests from 27 countries and regions around the world, including heads of arbitration institutions, arbitrators, lawyers, scholars and businesspeople, attended the event. The TANG Lecture was simultaneously broadcast live online, and more than 2,000 viewers watched the live broadcast online.

This year, the TANG Lecture was honored to invite Sir William Blair, former Judge in charge of the Commercial Court of England and Wales, Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court of China, to be the keynote speaker. Mr. Lu Song, senior arbitrator of CIETAC, professor of China Foreign Affairs University, Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court of China, was invited to be the commentator. Mr. Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC, chaired the event and delivered an opening speech.

(Opening Speech Delivered by Mr. Wang Chengjie, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CIETAC)

In his opening speech, Secretary General Wang Chengjie noted that the TANG Lecture was established to commemorate Mr. Tang Houzhi, an important founder and pioneer of China's arbitration industry. In recent years, the Party and the State have attached great importance to and actively promoted the development of arbitration. The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization (“the Resolution”) adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”) in July this year attached great importance to arbitration. The Resolution mentioned arbitration four times. It made special arrangements and put forward clear requirements for the improvement of the international commercial arbitration system and the fostering of international first-class arbitration institutions. Mr. Tang's unremitting efforts and significant contributions over the years in advocating and promoting the development of China’s arbitration cause reverberate in the new era.

In the introduction of Secretary General Wang Chengjie, the TANG Lecture played a short film about Mr. Tang's interviews, work and life during his lifetime in memory of him, reviewing the glorious achievements he had achieved through his tireless dedication to the arbitration cause and his noble personal sentiments.

(Keynote Speech Delivered by Sir William Blair, Former Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court of England and Wales, Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court of China)

Sir William Blair delivered a keynote speech on the topic of “Current Issues in International Arbitration - A Forward Look”. First of all, he pointed out that Mr. Tang was the father of modern arbitration in China, and his contribution to international arbitration was also immense. Subsequently, Sir William Blair introduced the important contents of the amendments to the Arbitration Act 1996 of the United Kingdom (“the UK”). He analyzed the scope of arbitration clauses in international commercial arbitration practice, how to treat forged awards, the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards relating to the protection of consumers' rights and interests with examples. He also shared his unique insights into the relationship between litigation, arbitration and mediation. From a forward-looking perspective, he made suggestions on Chinese enterprises’ participation in arbitration, how to better handle disputes that involve Chinese enterprises and how to further improve international commercial arbitration.

(Speech made by Prof. Lu Song, Senior Arbitrator of CIETAC, Professor of China Foreign Affairs University, Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court of China)

After the keynote speech, Prof. Lu Song, Senior Arbitrator of CIETAC, Professor of the China Foreign Affairs University, and Member of the International Commercial Experts Committee of the Supreme People's Court, responded to Sir William Blair's speech as the commentator. He pointed out that Chinese companies and law firms were gaining much mature experience and confidence over the past decades in participating international arbitration practice. China's own arbitration practice had made remarkable progress in terms of efficiency improvement, procedural perfection and fairness of results, etc. He said that the Eastern experience of “combining arbitration and mediation” had become an increasingly widespread consensus in international arbitration. The revision and updating of the Arbitration Rules and Guidelines on Evidence by CIETAC in recent years marked that China's arbitration practices stepped upward to a new level.

After the session of comment, Secretary General Wang Chengjie briefly summarized this year's TANG Lecture. He thanked the keynote speaker and the commentator for their wonderful speech. He pointed out that the new version of the CIETAC Arbitration Rules that was effective as of this year aligned with key updates including early dismissal and the “competence-competence” of arbitral tribunals in the amendments of the UK Arbitration Act. The efforts of enhancing the diversity and internationalization of CIETAC's arbitrators, mediators, and experts for construction disputes review had responded to the forward-looking development of international arbitration. In the current era of increasingly close global ties and the new birth of regional cooperation, the international arbitration community should work together and forge consensus to provide integrated solutions that respond to the needs of the times for the change and development of international dispute resolution in terms of theories, systems, rules and practices.

Since its launch in 2017, the TANG Lecture has always adhered to the purpose of publicizing the concept of arbitration, promoting cultural exchanges of international arbitration, facilitating the development of international arbitration, and creating a platform for international arbitration exchanges, so that the world, through Mr. Tang, could further understand the achievements and process of China's rule of law and the new development of China's arbitration cause. This year's TANG Lecture focused on the latest key issues of international commercial arbitration and built international consensus for promoting global governance. The TANG Lecture was packed and a complete success.