Shaanxi advances building of demonstration zone for international commercial legal services

In December 2020, the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Legal Service Committee Xi'an Center, the Belt and Road International Lawyers Association Xi'an Center and the Belt and Road Center for International Commercial Resolution at Xi'an all opened their doors in the city of Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The establishment of the "three centers" commenced the building of the Belt and Road Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services (BRDZ-ICLS) in Shaanxi.

With the settlement of more and more renowned domestic and international legal service institutions in the BRDZ-ICLS, including the Sixth Circuit Court and the Second International Commercial Court of the Supreme People's Court in Xi'an, the province has gradually realized its vision of becoming a highland of international commercial legal services. Its reach now extends beyond the central and western regions of China into Central and West Asia, providing services for many countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Commercial dispute mediation that is based on openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation focuses on guiding both parties in a dispute to move beyond disagreement and fully explore their common interests and seek solutions for common interests.

In providing diverse resolutions to commercial disputes, the justice bureau of Xi'an has explored the pilot registration and management of commercial dispute mediation organizations, and established a cooperation mechanism with the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court and grassroots courts for mediation and litigation in commercial disputes among parties from countries involved in the BRI. To date, the justice bureau has appointed 40 special mediators and aims to build an international commercial legal service platform for one-stop and diverse resolutions to commercial disputes.

In 2023, the justice bureau of Xi'an provided guidance for mediation institutions in mediating nearly 2,000 commercial disputes through the cooperation mechanism.

The demonstration zone is now composed of a comprehensive international commercial legal system that covers all processes within the industrial chain, including international commercial litigation, arbitration, mediation, talent cultivation, legal ascertainment services and research.

Moving forward, Shaanxi will accelerate the development of the "three centers" so as to provide strong legal support for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and facilitate the province's high-level opening-up.

Additionally, to bolster the confidence of enterprises in going global, the justice bureau of Xi'an has actively strengthened the supply of foreign-related legal services, and provided one-to-one legal advice on 113 foreign-related legal issues for 57 foreign trade enterprises.

The justice bureau, based on the current work of foreign-related legal services, has compiled and continuously updated guidelines and legal handbooks on typical cases involving foreign-related legal services for enterprises seeking investment cooperation among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Furthermore, it has engaged in promotional activities with enterprises and organized "meeting room" events and salons on foreign-related legal services in a bid to comprehensively build higher-level alignment between legal services and enterprises.