Guangxi aims to be preferred hub for commercial dispute resolution

As China's gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in South China has leveraged its unique geographical advantages and expanded opening-up, with growing economic exchanges and fruitful regional cooperation. However, the growth of cross-border trade has also led to an increase in transnational civil and commercial disputes.

To address such disputes, mediation — based on the voluntary participation of the relevant parties — has emerged as a flexible and efficient means of resolving international civil and commercial conflicts. In response to this need, Guangxi has made proactive efforts including establishing the Guangxi International Civil and Commercial Mediation Center in December 2022. The center, operated under the guidance of the Justice Department of Guangxi, is the first of its kind in the country to be directly administered by a provincial judicial administrative authority.

The center is dedicated to providing professional mediation services for ASEAN-related commercial disputes, while exploring diversified mechanisms for resolving international commercial disputes. It adheres to strict criteria in recruiting mediators, prioritizing professionals with cross-jurisdictional legal expertise and engaging industry specialists as required by specific cases.

Currently, the center has assembled a team of 152 professional mediators, including experienced lawyers, scholars, and experts. Through a tiered management system, the team is capable of handling a wide range of international civil and commercial disputes. Since its establishment over two years ago, the center has mediated more than 1,300 domestic and international commercial disputes involving parties from 13 countries, including Vietnam and Malaysia, earning growing trust and recognition from international stakeholders.

One illustrative case took place in June of this year, when the center, in collaboration with the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Nanning International Commercial Tribunal, successfully mediated a contract dispute over mobile phone screens between merchants from Bangladesh and China. Supported by Guangxi's "One-Stop Platform for Resolving Foreign-Related Civil and Commercial Disputes via Litigation, Arbitration, and Mediation", the center adopted an innovative approach combining commercial mediation with advisory support from industry experts. Mediators with expertise in international trade rules facilitated negotiations, while industry specialists provided practical insights to clarify key issues and balance the interests of both parties. The case was included in the second batch of typical international commercial and maritime mediation cases released by the Supreme People's Court.

This success highlights Guangxi's progress in building a diversified dispute resolution mechanism that integrates mediation, arbitration, and litigation. In recent years, the region has deepened international judicial cooperation, innovatively applied the "Eastern Experience" to address challenges in foreign-related dispute resolution, and promoted the alignment with international judicial rules, aiming to turn itself into a preferred destination for resolving ASEAN-related international commercial disputes.