A news conference on the establishment of Hangzhou International Arbitration Court (HIAC) and Hangzhou Arbitration Forum was held in Hangzhou Silver Star Hotel starting at 9 a.m. on January 26, 2016.

The conference honorably saw the presence of guests that included Xu Zue, Vice Director of Hangzhou People’s Congress Standing Committee and Director of Hangzhou Arbitration Commission, Zhang Qianjiang, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, Wei Min, Director of the Legislative Office of Hangzhou and the Executive Deputy Director of HAC, Tang Feng, standing Party member of Hangzhou Commerce Commission, Xu Guanzhong, Deputy Division Chief of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce and the Deputy Director of Zhejiang Provincial Anti-Monopoly Bureau, Feng Yihui, Deputy Division Chief of Hangzhou Commerce Commission, Lang Yanxian, Deputy Division Chief of Hangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, Liu Fengquan, Deputy Director and Secretary General of HAC, and Chen Huan and Zhao Liang, both Deputy Secretaries-General of HAC.

Totally more than 100 people were invited to attend thismeeting, including leading officials of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce and Hangzhou Commerce Commission; officials from the Fourth Civil Trial Division of Zhejiang Provincial and Hangzhou People’s Court; managers from Zhejiang Provincial Business Research Institution, Provincial Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, Provincial Overseas Chinese Chambers of Commerce, Korea Chambers of Commerce, Provincial Electrical products Imports and Export Chambers of Commerce and Shanghai Imports and Export Chambers of Commerce; officials from Zhejiang East China Construction Engineering Co. Ltd, Hangzhou Branch of China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation and ZC Rubber Co. Ltd; members of Zhejiang Provincial and Hangzhou Municipal Lawyers Association’s Committee of Experts Concerning Foreign Affairs; arbitrators for international resolutions of HAC and senior lawyers of renowned law firms in Hangzhou.   

The conference was chaired by Cui Haiyan, partner of Zhejiang Jindao Law Firm and the head of international trade division. Over 20 media organs such as Hangzhou Daily, Metropolis Express, Daily Business Newspaper, Hangzhou.com, Hangzhou TV Station Comprehensive Channel, Voice of West lake, Qianjiang Evening News, Zhejiang On-line, Today Morning Express and Xinhua News Agency were also invited to report the event.

Tang Feng from Hangzhou Commerce Commission had a review of the preparatory efforts for HIAC. Wei Min from the Legislative Office of Hangzhou presented a statement concerning “HAC’s Decision on the Establishment of HIAC”; Xu Zue from Hangzhou People’s Congress and Zhang Qianjiang from Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce unveiled the plate of  “Hangzhou International Arbitration Court”; Wang Guiguo, President of HIAC and the senior professor of Zhejiang University, Xu Guanzhong from Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, Feng Yihui from Hangzhou Commerce Commission and Zhao Liang from HAC joined the Q&A section for the media.

Next came the international arbitration seminar, in which a lecture on the dispute resolutions along the Belt and Road regions was given by Professor Wang Guiguo, President of HIAC, senior professor of Zhejiang University, the academician of International Academy Of Comparative Law,  President of Hong Kong Research Center of the WTO, Vice President of Chinese Society of International Economic Law and National Consultant of the Butterworths Press.

By summarizing with his analysis the types of existing commercial disputes, as well as the characteristics and methodology of the dispute resolutions, Wang probed into the “selection of dispute resolutions mechanism and principles along of Belt and Road regions”. Today’s commercial disputes can be classified into types according to the parties involved i.e., disputes between enterprises, between enterprises and individuals and between individuals, and disputes between countries (regions) and countries, between enterprises, and between individuals and countries. There are three ways to find solutions to a commercial dispute, i.e., for ordinary commercial disputes, for settlement under WTO rules and for investment disputes.

In consideration of the characteristics and effect of previous cases, President Wang alleged that the ‘Belt and Road’ mechanism should be in compliance with new situations and new requirements, and focus more on innovation and diversification.  Parties in dispute should be allowed to engage in the procedure. We must find a way to combine mediation with arbitration to proceed under international rules and principles. In the procedure fairness and transparency, and the preservation of the parties’ remedy rights, should be the priorities. HIAC will be such a fair, professional and efficient institution serving to the parties and play an active part in the improvement of the ‘Belt and Road’ dispute settlement mechanism.

HIAC marks the birth of the first province-level international arbitration institution for foreign-related enterprises, especially small and medium-sized companies, to effectively find solutions to disputes. In the meantime, it provides an opportunity for arbitration institutions and the state authorities on international trade to complement each other. HIAC will safeguard the rules to perfect the foreign investment services all over the province and develop further to open up. HIAC will serve as a guard for the sustainable development of the foreign-related and foreign-funded ventures under the initiative of Belt and Road and "Go Global", and be of profound significance in protecting the international trading.