TradePromotion

Trade and Legal Support Powers China-Arab Cooperation

2019-9-12 15:08:36

On 5 September, the Third China-Arab States Business Summit opened in Yinchuan, Ningxia. Cohosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Arab League Secretariat, General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture for Arab Countries, and the People's Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Summit was attended by 13 diplomatic envoys from 9 countries such as Oman, Bahrain, and Algeria, 85 business associations from 28 countries including Egypt, Ghana, India, and Iran, and around 600 leaders from 23 provinces including Tianjin and Hebei.

With the theme of “Promote Economic and Trade Exchanges and Pragmatic Cooperation”, the Summit was designed to help China, the Arab states, and other Belt and Road (B&R) countries communicate, negotiate, sign contracts, and cooperate.

According to Yang Rongkuan, J.D, Senior Partner of the Beijing Kangda Law Firm and Director of the Firm’s Hongkong branch, the Memorandum is a joint effort of foreign business associations and Chinese trade promotion organizations. The launched platform is aimed at strengthening the coordination and arbitration cooperation between Chinese and Arabian legal service providers, and improving trade dispute resolution, to create a more enabling environment for cooperation. At the center of the platform’s mandate is to push projects forward and diversify dispute resolution. Such resolution, very important for China, the Arab states, and the B&R initiative, is in line with the global pursuit for diversified approaches.

In recent years, as Chinese companies move faster to go global, trade disputes are also on the rise. The Chinese Business Globalization Report (2017-2018) shows that over 50% of businesses have encountered civil disputes while investing overseas.

According to Yang, China, the Arab states, and other B&R countries cover wide areas where different economic, political, and legal systems, technical standards, and cultures exist. The uncertainty in cross-border investment necessitates dispute resolution. The central philosophy is to fully respect the autonomy of the parties involved, and focus on the substantial need for resolution instead of the approaches. This can help China, the Arab states, and other B&R countries resolve disputes efficiently and rewardingly. For the B&R initiative, the interactions between different mechanisms are especially important: arbitration, mediation, and litigation should work together to promote the B&R development.