On September 29, 2024, 2024 China Arbitration Week Hebei Special Event and the Achievement Announcement Conference of Hebei Foreign-related Commercial Legal Service Association, with the theme of "Diversified Dispute Resolution Mechanism and Rule-of-Law Business Environment" were successfully held in Shijiazhuang.

(Event site)

The event was co-organized by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) Xiong'an Sub-Commission, Hebei International Commercial Legal Service Center, Hebei Vocational College of Political Science and Law, Hebei Lawyers Association, Hebei Arbitration Commission, Shijiazhuang Arbitration Commission, and was strongly supported by CIETAC, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Mediation Center, CCPIT Hebei Council and other institutions. Xu Yanbo, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Secretary General of CIETAC, Cai Chenfeng, Executive Vice Chairman of CCPIT Mediation Center, and other leaders attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Xu Yanbo, Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Secretary General of CIETAC, said that since its establishment in 2021, CIETAC Xiong'an Sub-Commission has actively participated in the construction of a market-oriented, rule-of-law and international business environment in Xiong'an New Area, and provided on-the-spot commercial legal services for commercial entities participating in the construction of the New Area. As the earliest international standing arbitration institution established in China, CIETAC has built a dispute resolution service system with arbitration as the core and multiple dispute resolution methods working in coordination. CIETAC and CIETAC Xiong'an Sub-Commission are willing to fully leverage the advantages of integration between the headquarters and its sub-commissions and the connection between domestic and international resources to support Hebei Province in enhancing foreign-related commercial legal services and diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in terms of promoting system optimization and rule design, deepening exchanges and cooperation among all parties, and organizing training for enterprise needs.

(Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Secretary General Xu Yanbo, delivering the opening speech)

At the signing and launching ceremony of the cooperation agreements, CIETAC signed the Memorandum of Cooperation with the High People's Court of Hebei Province, CCPIT Mediation Center and CCPIT Hebei Council on the joint establishment of “Mechanism for the Coordination of Litigation and Mediation, and the Connection between Litigation and Arbitration in Foreign-related Commercial Disputes”, "Mechanism for Serving and Supporting the Construction of Xiong'an New Area and Hebei Pilot Free Trade Zone”, “Mechanism for Joint Protection of International Intellectual Property Rights” and “Mechanism for Jointly Promoting the Construction of a Rule-of-Law Business Environment”. The aim is to introduce international advanced arbitration and mediation services into Hebei Province, facilitate one-stop dispute resolution between the parties, and bring all parties together to support the construction of Xiong'an New Area and Hebei Pilot Free Trade Zone, and optimize the business environment in Hebei Province.

(Signature of cooperation agreement with CIETAC, High People's Court of Hebei Province, CCPIT Mediation Center, and CCPIT Hebei Council)

CCPIT Hebei Council and the Tianjin Maritime Court also reached the agreement on jointly establishing the “Mechanism for the Coordination of Litigation and Mediation in Maritime and Commercial Disputes” and “ Mechanism for Optimizing the Legal Business Environment” and signed the Memorandum of Cooperation. The Hebei Foreign-related Commercial Legal Service Association also released the achievement, related practices, and future schedule of work.

The third part of the event featured keynote speeches. Professor Shen Sibao, member of the Law Department of the Social Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, member of the Academic Committee of the China Law Society, president of the China International Economic and Trade Law Research Association, and one of the first members of the International Commercial Law Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court, delivered the speech titled “Enhancing Foreign-related Legal Thinking and Creating a Legal Business Environment”. He provided an in-depth analysis of the meaning of foreign-related rule of law thinking, and interpreted how to shape foreign-related rule of law thinking and help create a rule-of-law business environment under the new era.

(Shen Sibao, President of China Society of International Economic Law)

Che Pizhao, Vice President of the International Economic Law Research Association of the China Law Society and Professor of Tsinghua University Law School, gave an in-depth interpretation of cutting-edge issues such as the trend of international economic and trade rules with the topic of “‘Anti-globalization’ or Reshaping International Economic and Trade Rules ”.

(Che Pizhao, Vice President of the International Economic Law Research Association of the China Law Society)

The next part of the event was a themed salon featuring two topics: “Diversified Foreign-related Dispute Resolution Mechanism” and “New Developments in Commercial Arbitration”.

The first topic, “Diversified Foreign-related Dispute Resolution Mechanisms” was chaired by Zhao Sheng, Director of Hebei International Commercial Legal Service Center. Wang Fang, Deputy Secretary General of CCPIT Mediation Center, Liang Junli, third-level senior judge of the High People's Court of Hebei Province, Hu Yingjie, third-level senior judge of the Tianjin Maritime Court, and Zhang Yang, director of Hebei Provincial Intellectual Property Protection Center, respectively introduced and shared the latest development of the mediation mechanism of the CCPIT, the construction of a multi-dispute resolution mechanism in the people’s courts of Hebei Province, the practices of Tianjin Maritime Court in diversified dispute resolution, and the mediation work of Hebei Intellectual Property Protection Center.

(From left to right: Zhao Sheng, Director of Hebei International Commercial Legal Service Center, Wang Fang, Deputy Secretary General of CCPIT Mediation Center, Liang Junli, Senior Judge of the High People's Court of Hebei Province, Hu Yingjie, Senior Judge of Tianjin Maritime Court, and Zhang Yang, Director of Hebei Intellectual Property Protection Center)

The second topic, “New Developments in Commercial Arbitration”, was chaired by Lv Yan, Deputy Secretary General of CIETAC Xiong'an Sub-Commission. Professor Song Lianbin of China University of Political Science and Law, Jia Zhaoxiong, Deputy Secretary General of Shijiazhuang Arbitration Commission, Dong Xiao, Partner of Beijing JunHe Law Firm, and Huo Wei, Partner of Beijing Zhong Lun Law Firm, respectively conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, how to exercise the advantages of arbitration to improve the construction of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms, challenges and new developments in commercial arbitration procedures involving multiple contracts and parties, and how Chinese enterprises should apply diversified dispute resolution mechanisms to protect their own rights and interests.

(From left to right: Lv Yan, Deputy Secretary General of CIETAC Xiong'an Sub-Commission, Song Lianbin, Professor of China University of Political Science and Law, Jia Zhaoxiong, Deputy Secretary General of Shijiazhuang Arbitration Commission, Dong Xiao, Partner of Beijing JunHe Law Firm, and Huo Wei, Partner of Beijing Zhong Lun Law Firm)

More than 260 representatives of foreign-funded and foreign trade enterprises in Hebei Province, lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, judges, and practitioners participated in the event on-site. The participants all agree that the event successfully carried out a comprehensive and constructive discussion on the theme of “Diversified Dispute Resolution Mechanism and the Construction of a Rule-of-Law Business Environment”, which helped all parties to cooperate and learn from each other, jointly promote the high-quality development of dispute resolution in the province, and contribute new wisdom and new solutions to the optimization and improvement of the rule-of-law business environment in Hebei in the future.