Xi’an aims to become preferred location for commercial dispute resolution among BRI countries

On the occasion of the third anniversary of the establishment of "the three centers", the Xi'an Center of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Legal Service Committee, the Xi'an Center of the Belt and Road Lawyer Union, and the Xi'an Center for the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Settlement, the justice bureau of Xi'an and the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court signed a cooperation agreement on  litigation and mediation in foreign-related commercial disputes among parties from the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and unveiled the Belt and Road Foreign-related Commercial Dispute Litigation and Mediation Coordination Center on Dec 1, 2023.

The new center, directly under the Xi'an Center for the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Settlement, is responsible for handling foreign-related commercial disputes, while actively exploring new patterns of collaborative dispute resolution between judicial institutions and non-profit commercial mediation organizations, aiming to build an international commercial legal service platform for one-stop and diversified resolution of commercial disputes.

Within just two months of its establishment, the coordination center has successfully resolved a foreign-related commercial dispute between a Finnish company and a construction company based in Shaanxi province through mediation. Based on the mutual commercial interests of both parties, the mediator at the center proposed a solution featuring commercial cooperation, which has not only resolved the dispute itself but also helped foster a mutual intent for business cooperation between the two parties.

In recent years, the justice bureau of Xi'an and the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court have jointly advanced the construction of the Belt and Road Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services (BRDZ-ICLS) and strived to build Xi'an into a preferred location for resolving commercial disputes among parties from BRI countries.

Efforts have been made to build a team of high-quality mediators comprising legal professionals who provide commercial dispute mediation services for foreign-related enterprises. These mediators have directly handled disputes involving domestic and foreign business entities or cases entrusted by courts in the fields of trade, investment, finance and intellectual property, where the mediation settlements were made legally binding by judicial organs to ensure effective resolution of disputes. These efforts help foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

Moving forward, Xi'an will continue to advance the construction of the Belt and Road Foreign-related Commercial Dispute Litigation and Mediation Coordination Center, strengthen the cultivation of foreign-related legal talents, and promote the services of law ascertainment and research in related areas.

Meanwhile, the city will continue to actively build a one-stop and diversified international commercial dispute resolution platform integrating litigation, arbitration, and mediation and promote the construction of an efficient and collaborative foreign-related legal service system in a bid to help Chinese enterprises to go global while attracting high-quality foreign enterprises to invest in China. It will also provide a solid legal guarantee for Shaanxi to become a highland of reform and opening-up in the inland regions and to integrate more deeply into the overall framework of the Belt and Road cooperation.