On the afternoon of September 25, 2024, the "International Symposium on Third-Party Funding Industry" hosted by Beijing International Dispute Resolution Development Center (hereinafter referred to as "Development Center"), organized by Houzhu Investment, and co-organized by Dingsong Legal Innovation Group Co., Ltd was successfully held in the Multi-Function Conference Hall of Zhengda Center in Beijing. The symposium was supported by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as " CIETAC "), Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Center (hereinafter referred to as "BAC/BIAC"), China Maritime Arbitration Commission (hereinafter referred to as " CMAC "), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (hereinafter referred to as "HKIAC"), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (hereinafter referred to as "SIAC"), International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration (hereinafter referred to as "ICC"), China-Asia Economic Development Association, China-Africa Business Council, Queen Mary University of London, Burford, Omni Bridgeway, Hilco lP Merchant Banking, Nivalion, Dun & Bradstreet, Caijing, and Law+. Huang Jin, the President of the Development Center and Chinese Society of International Law, and Yu Jianlong, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and China Chamber of International Commerce, attended and delivered speeches respectively, and Jiang Lili, Secretary-General of BAC/BIAC, presided over the symposium.

Huang Jin firstly represented the Development Center in extending the warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to all the participants and supporters. He stated that the symposium was the first international conference hosted by the Development Center, which had a milestone significance. As the operator of the operational platform of Beijing International Commercial Arbitration Center, the Development Center bears an important mission and responsibility of serving the construction of the International Commercial Arbitration Center and leading the high-quality development of Chinese arbitration cause. He also pointed out that it is necessary to accurately grasp the trend of humanization, modernization, internationalization, localization, integration, and digitization of international commercial arbitration development, to accelerate the establishment and improvement of a sound arbitration system, cultivate international top-level arbitration institutions, build an international commercial arbitration center, shape a market-oriented, rule-of-law-based, internationalized top-level business environment, and promote the construction of Chinese foreign-related legal system and capacity.

Yu Jianlong pointed out that with the profound changes in the international situation and trade structure, enhancing enterprises' competitiveness and improving the support system for enterprises has become crucial parts for advancing high-level openness and promoting Chinese enterprises' high-quality "going out" strategy. Third-party funding is an important means of enhancing enterprises' ability to deal with overseas disputes. As Chinese enterprises stepping up their pace of going out and the domestic legal service market deepening its integration with the international market, this model is also gradually becoming more acceptable and is applied by more Chinese enterprises and legal professionals. He said that the holding of this symposium has provided a good platform for legal community to jointly discuss the third-party funding, and he hopes that all parties present can strengthen their cooperation between academic and practical area, deepen their understanding of the needs of the enterprises, and continue to learn and draw on advanced international experience. He hopes that the third-party funding institutions and enterprises will create more sparks of cooperation.

Rachael Mulheron KC (Hon), Professor of Tort and Civil Law Justice at Queen Mary University of London, delivered the keynote speech. She firstly introduced the emergence and development of the third-party funding in England and Wales, then she explored the issues of self-regulation and government regulation in this industry. She also shared numbers of topics of typical business models of third-party funding, the funders' fee structures, potential costs borne by the funders, ATE insurance and the extent of protection for the funded party. Finally, she summarized five key points about the third-party funding in the UK. First, with many funders, intermediaries, and insurers emerging, the British third-party funding market is very mature and complex. Second, both mechanisms of litigation and arbitration in the UK have recognized the usefulness and functionality of the third-party funding. Third, the third-party funding institutions operate their investments on a commercial basis with less than 10% of cases attracting funding. Fourth, the third-party funding must adhere to the code of conduct of the industry and have a minimum capital requirement for funders. Fifth, the UK has a lot of experience in the third-party funding judicial practice, while existing disputes and divergences over the structure of funding and the validity of funding agreements. The legislative authority is taking measures to rectify these defects in order to further support the third-party funding, as it is indeed forming a global market.

The first round table discussion was moderated by Professor Fu Yulin, School of Law of Peking University, and featured Zhang Haoliang, Director of Business Development Department (International Cases) of BAC/BIAC, Wei Zhiping, Director of Supervision and Coordination Department of CIETAC, Chen Bo, Deputy Secretary-General of CMAC, Yu Zijin, Adviser of HKIAC, Zhang Cunyuan, Director of China Region of SIAC and Chief Representative of SIAC Shanghai Office, and Huang Zhijin, Director of North Asia Region of ICC and Chief Representative of ICC Shanghai Office. The panelists, representing various arbitration institutions, shared their practices and experiences on the recent updates of the arbitration rules regarding the third-party funding, the disclosure requirements, the prevention of conflicts of interest, and related cases handled by their respective institutions. The panelists agreed that the third-party funding is currently developing rapidly in practice, and that arbitration institutions generally take a relatively open attitude towards its use in arbitration. Meanwhile, they believe that arbitration institutions need to continue to take practices to improve the understandings of the impact of third-party funding on arbitration procedures and rules, while maintaining the independence and impartiality of arbitration to better serve the interests of the parties of arbitration.

Round-table Discussion II was moderated by Fei Ning, Senior Advisor of Houzhu Investment, with Quentin Pak, Director of Burford, Fu Tong, Co-founder and President of Houzhu Investment, LAU Chee chong, Senior Legal Counsel of Omni Bridgeway, Michael D. Friedman, President of Hilco IP Merchant Banking, Liu Zhi Cong, Senior Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway based in Singapore, Falco Kreis, Senior Investment Manager and Head of Munich Office at Nivalion, Zhang Zhi, Founder of DingSong Legal Innovation Group, and Zhu Zhen, Director of Products and Solutions at Dun & Bradstreet. The panelists shared their experiences and insights on topics related to the third-party funding practices both domestically and internationally, including the selection processes and criteria of cases, the monetization of intellectual property rights and funding, the interaction between arbitration rules and funding practices, and the risk management for outbound business. The panelists agreed that the client base and needs for third-party funding are becoming increasingly diverse, and that the products and service offered by the third-party funding institutions are also developing to the direction of diversity. All participants expressed optimism about the development of the third-party funding in China and shared some unique challenges in Chinese market compared with the international market.

Round-table Discussion III was moderated by Wang Jialu, Co-founder of Houzhu Investment, with Zachary Sharpe, Global Dispute Resolution Team Leader of Jones Day Law Firm Singapore Office, Liu Xiao, Managing Partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP China Office, Zhong Li, Partner of Huizhong Law Firm, Wang Zheng, Managing Partner of Zhenghan Law Firm, Li Zhiyong, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of China State Construction International Holding Co., Ltd., and Li Lu, Compliance Director of Anxin Securities Asset Management Co., Ltd. The panelists shared their experience and insights on practical issues and solutions in their respective industries and businesses, including how to set and manage reasonable expectations of the parties regarding the process and outcome of cases, how to deal with confidentiality and privilege appropriately, how to manage disclosure and conflicts of interest and so on. The guest speakers believe that third-party funding has unique value in promoting dispute resolution and achieving justice, especially in supporting complex cross-border litigation and arbitration, which can play an important role in connecting law firms and enterprises.

This conference had over 300 offline participants and more than 60,000 online viewers, providing a good channel for continuous exchanges between academic and practical communities of the third-party funding from China and abroad, and will also contribute significantly to the development of the third-party funding in China.