New methods adopted for conflict resolution

Diverse dispute resolution methods have long been a priority for Chinese courts. In recent years, courts across China have intensified efforts to deal with growing caseloads by expanding mediation alongside litigation.

Data released in the annual work report of the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, in March 2025 showed Chinese courts resolved more than 12.18 million cases through mediation in 2024, up 1.5 percent year-on-year.

While calling on judicial staff members to mediate cases, courts nationwide have also invited retired judges, industry associations, legal professionals, and even foreigners to act as mediators to improve the efficiency and quality of mediation.

Courts in Guangdong province have named seven mediation organizations in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to help resolve cross-border civil and commercial disputes, according to the report.

In Fujian province, courts have tapped into the role of Taiwan mediators in handling civil and commercial cases related to Taiwan parties, leading to nearly 40 percent of the case litigants expressing satisfaction with the outcomes and withdrawing their lawsuits, the report said.

In addition, Chinese courts have strongly supported lawyers' mediation efforts. In 2024, lawyers participated in mediating 770,000 cases, with 64.6 percent of the disputes reaching a successful settlement, the report said.

Compared with time-consuming and costly litigation, mediation seeks a solution both sides can accept within the framework of the law. In disputes where the facts are relatively straightforward, it is often a better option — and one that can help the parties move on from the conflict more quickly, said Zhao Hai, a senior judge from the filing division of the Xicheng District People's Court in Beijing.

His court has had 107 mediators each year, with around 80,000 cases handled. Among the civil and commercial disputes, over 60 percent were successfully mediated at the pretrial stage, he said. In 2025, from Jan 1 to Dec 1, a total of 7,567 cases were settled via mediation.

Some courts in Zhejiang province, including those in Yiwu and Keqiao, have used foreigners to help mediate foreign-related business cases, an innovation intended to provide more efficient legal services for merchants from abroad.

Chen Chengjian, vice-president of the People's Court in Yiwu, said the involvement of foreign mediators, who are well-versed in languages and trade cultures, has alleviated the difficulties Chinese judges face in contacting foreign defendants and delivering legal documents.

"They can also quickly close gaps with foreign business people, who will naturally trust them," he added.

Foreign mediators can also share legal information and their own business experience with new foreign traders in China.

As China's first mediation committee for foreign-related disputes, Yiwu has attracted 20 foreign mediators from 15 countries, including South Korea, Nepal and India, and mediated more than 1,200 disputes, according to the Yiwu court.

Kyrgyzstan native Meerzat Omuralieva, who runs a jewelry business in the global hub for small commodities, became a foreign mediator after being impressed by the Chinese dispute resolution mechanism, which she described as "equal, efficient and trustworthy".