Court panel reappointed to solve intl trade tiffs

Chinese entities must learn how to use laws and judicial means as "weapons" to protect their rights and interests in the face of the ever-increasing international commercial disputes, as the nation steps up its efforts to implement the rule of law in handling foreign affairs, experts said.

Whether through mediation, arbitration or litigation, the better use of the judicial means has always been an effective way to resolve commercial disputes, they said, calling for more widespread training on the international rule of law.

They made the remarks after being reappointed on Aug 24 as members of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court, China's top court.

The committee was created in 2018 to assist in mediating between litigants in international commercial disputes and advising the country's two international commercial courts－in Shenzhen, Guangdong province and Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

The committee members are experts from China and abroad, including from Belgium, France and South Africa, who focus mainly on international law and global business rules and who have broad experience in mediation and arbitration.

Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, said that over the past four years the experts have functioned like a "think tank" in helping to research foreign laws, mediating in international cases and making judicial interpretations.

Huang Jin, one of the members, highlighted the committee's significant role in resolving international commercial conflicts and coordinating international commercial laws when handling international friction. He underscored that the rule of law provides the best business environment.

"After more Chinese enterprises went global and the United States triggered friction with us, we've seen rapid growth in international commercial disputes, mainly covering trade, investment and intellectual property," he said. Huang is also the president of the Chinese Society of International Law.

Zhou Hanmin, another committee member, regards the rule of law as central to resolving commercial disputes, on which he said: "Dispute arises with development. The faster a country develops, the more disputes it will face."

In his view, Sino-US frictions will be long-term, wide-ranging and all-around.

"So we need to be fully prepared to deal with them, including those on trade," he said, emphasizing that "a strong foothold in resolving trade problems is to effectively apply domestic and international laws."

"Simply put, if you want to resolve an international commercial dispute, you have to make good use of judicial means, whether through mediation, arbitration or litigation," he said. Zhou, of Shanghai, is also a national political adviser and a specialist on international economic and trade law.

Shen Sibao, of the expert committee, said he is pleased to see more Chinese enterprises learning to protect their legitimate rights and interests with the law when handling business disputes, as China's participation in global commercial activities has expanded and public awareness of the rule of law has increased in the past decade.

Shen, who is also a law professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said arbitration is a more popular way of resolving problems among business entities around the world, and he suggested that Chinese academics research and converse more on this area to help align China's activities with global practices.

Although China has made achievements in resolving international commercial disputes, Huang said it has not been enough, and he called for more extensive education of professionals in global legal affairs.

"What we urgently demand is that they are not only familiar with the domestic business situation and international rules, but also have the ability to handle global affairs with good reasoning and understanding of laws," he said.

Huang suggested universities make greater efforts to cultivate such professionals, adding that "it will contribute to improving the law-based governance in China's external work".