Beijing Arbitration Commission

    On 14-16 October, the 5th Greater China Arbitration Forum Conference was held in Beijing. XI Xiaoming, Vice-President of the Supreme People’s Court, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and made the keynote speech “New Opportunities and New Visions for Promoting the Development of Arbitration Systems in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan”. Ms. Sylvia WY Siu, President of the Greater China Arbitration Forum (GCAF) and President of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators; WANG Junfeng, President of the All China Lawyers Association; Mr. Gary Soo, Barrister-at-Law and Initiator of GCAF; YAO Hong, Former Director of Civil Law Office of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the NPC Standing Committee; LUO Dongchuan, President of the 4th Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court; XUE Chunxi, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice; and YUAN Shiming, Deputy Director of Coordination Division of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, attended this conference, along with nearly 300 officials and arbitrators from renowned arbitration institutions, lawyers and industry representatives from the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The Conference	XI Xiaoming, Vice-President of the Supreme People’s Court, delivered the keynote speech

    The conference had on its agenda six topics for discussion and the speakers came to speak and exchange opinions on a series of subjects including rules and practice of arbitration in the Greater China Region, transparency of arbitral proceedings, lex causae (governing law) of an arbitration agreement, interim measures, consolidation of arbitrations, enforcement of arbitration awards, mediation and international investment dispute arbitration. The discussants generally agreed that arbitration is now rapidly developing in the Greater China Region, which on one hand fully utilizes the advantages of ADR to share the pressure of litigation, and on the other hand is geared to international standards by means of absorbing new ideas and practice of international arbitration. A sufficient exchange among arbitration institutions in the Greater China Region can foster mutual understanding and the sharing of experience, which will greatly benefit the development of arbitration in the region.

Deputy Director WANG Hongsong delivered the keynote speech at the conference	Photo (left to right): Deputy Secretary-General LIN Zhiwei, Deputy Director WANG Hongsong, Sylvia WY Siu, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and Gary Soo, Initiator of GCAF

    BAC’s Deputy Director WANG Hongsong, Secretary-General LIN Zhiwei and Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong attended the conference. Delivering the keynote speech “How to Improve the Transparency of Arbitral Proceedings”, Deputy Director WANG Hongsong talked about the relevant theories and practices that BAC had developed over the years and her speech won great acclaim from the attendees

Secretary-General LIN Zhiwei talked with guests	Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong talked with an attending expert

    During the conference, Secretary-General LIN Zhiwei and Deputy Secretary-General CHEN Fuyong, on behalf of BAC, had extended exchanges with the attending experts as well as the officials and arbitrators from renowned arbitration institutions in the Greater China Region, and achieved common understanding with them on issues such as strengthening exchanges and cooperation between arbitration institutions and further promoting the development of arbitration in the region.