The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) is the most representative international arbitration institution in China with the longest history. CIETAC has extensive experience in the settlement of international commercial disputes and remains committed to promoting the development of inter-national commercial arbitration. Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, CIETAC has handled many Belt and Road related cases and adopted measures to play an active role in furthering the Initiative.
(1) Providing quality arbitration service for the resolution of the Belt and Road-related disputes
CIETAC has stepped up its efforts to enhance the quality of arbitration service, and improved the efficiency in managing cases. CIETAC has selected and engaged arbitrators in consideration of the advantages of the Belt and Road countries. Having accomplished the renewal of its arbitrators in 2017, CIETAC now has engaged more arbitrators from the Belt and Road countries, with the number of arbitrators increased from 51 to 78, and the nationalities of arbitrators from 17 to 32, hence further enhancing the credibility and influence of CIETAC’s arbitral awards.
From January 2013 to June 2019, CIETAC has accepted 557 Belt and Road related cases, involving a total dispute amount of RMB24.357 billion and involving 43 Belt and Road countries.
(2) Actively expanding CIETAC’s presence
CIETAC has been actively expanding its domestic and international presence by setting up branches at home and abroad. In September 2017, it set up the CIETAC Silk Road Arbitration Center in Xi’an to provide commercial arbitration service for countries and regions along the Belt and Road. It also set up the CIETAC North America Arbitration Center in Vancouver, Canada on July 2, 2018, and the CIETAC European Arbitration Centre in Vienna, Austria on September 28, 2018, to provide quality and convenient arbitration service to enterprises that have developed their businesses under the Belt and Road Initiative in North America and Europe.
(3) Strengthening exchanges and cooperation with international arbitration institutions in Belt and Road countries Since 2013, CIETAC has sent a number of delegations to establish and enhance exchanges and cooperation with prestigious arbitration institutions in major countries along the Belt and Road. So far, CIETAC has set up cooperation mechanisms with major arbitration institutions in 22 countries such as Turkey, Singapore and Poland. CIETAC delegations also arranged meetings with Chinese-funded enterprises located in the countries they visited, sharing experiences on how to prevent legal risks in their local operations. CIETAC is always committed to further deepening the mutual understanding, exchanges and cooperation with the arbitration institutions in countries along the Belt and Road and enhancing the international recognition and influence of Chinese arbitration institutions.
On November 7, 2019, CIETAC held the Belt & Road Arbitration Institutions Roundtable Forum in Beijing jointly with eight leading arbitration institutions around the world, including the ICC International Court of Arbitration. Over 40 arbitration institutions from China and abroad signed the Beijing Joint Declaration of the “Belt and Road” Arbitration Institutions to push forward the in-depth collaboration in settling the inter-national trade and investment disputes related to the Belt and Road projects.
(4) Providing theoretical and academic support to serve the Belt and Road construction
Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, CIETAC has organized and carried out a number of research projects on the international arbitration systems of the Belt and Road countries and has finished research on the commercial arbitration systems in 25 countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Pakistan. Based on this research, CIETAC has provided enterprises with specific information concerning the arbitration systems and institutions of the relevant countries, to help them avoid legal risks and conduct comprehensive assessments of their economic and trade activities in the Belt and Road countries.
In 2019, CIETAC compiled “Selection of Arbitration Cases Involving the Belt and Road Countries” including 18 inter-national commercial arbitration cases related to the Belt and Road countries or regions handled by CIETAC since 2013, involving various types of disputes, such as international construction projects, international sales of goods and equity transfer, with case analysis conducted by senior arbitrators. In addition, CIETAC published the Annual Report on International Commercial Arbitration in China. In Chapter Two of the Annual Report, “Observation on China’s International Commercial Arbitration Practice Involving the ‘Belt and Road’ Countries”, the characteristics of the Belt and Road related CIETAC cases are summarized for the first time based on big data and analysis of typical cases. These researches provide an overview of arbitration cases handled by Chinese arbitration institutions in countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and pinpoint legal issues to which Chinese enterprises should pay attention when “going global”. The Annual Report also shares experiences on how to deal with foreign-related commercial disputes and gives suggestions on risk prevention.
(5) Carrying out extensive training and research activities on corporate legal risk prevention and dispute resolution
Centering on the subject of Belt and Road arbitration service, CIETAC has hosted events such as the China Arbitration Week, China Arbitration Summit, and CEITAC Cup International Commercial Arbitration Moot in recent years. CIETAC has also held forums on Belt and Road trade and investment risk prevention and response and other related activities in many cities in China. In the international dimension, CIETAC has held activities in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Brazil and other countries along the Belt and Road, such as forums for Chinese-funded enterprises, and seminars on legal risk prevention and dispute resolution. The activities aim to help enterprises fully understand the fair, reasonable and efficient approaches to resolving Belt and Road related inter-national commercial disputes, provide them with efficient arbitration and legal support in their business activities, and encourage them to participate in the construction of the diversified dispute resolution mechanism for the Belt and Road related disputes.
(6) Continuously improving the diversified dispute resolution mechanism
CIETAC released its International Investment Arbitration Rules in September 2017. The Rules are the first of the kind in China, which fills the gaps in China’s international investment arbitration rules and provides an important platform and way for Chinese companies to resolve disputes arising from their investments in foreign countries. In order to speed up the implementation of the Rules, CIETAC has released its Panel of International Investment Arbitrators in September 2018, with a total of 79 arbitrators. Among them, 15 arbitrators are from 12 major countries along the Belt and Road. By doing so, CIETAC can better meet the needs of enterprises to participate in the Belt and Road construction and provide convenience to the parties in choosing their arbitrators.
CIETAC also established its mediation center in May 2018 and the Center has released its List of Mediators, with a view to satisfying the needs of parties of the Belt and Road countries who are from different legal and cultural back-grounds, and also providing them with quality and efficient diversified dispute resolution service.
