The 11th South China Business & Law Forum was held on December 7, 2021, jointly hosted by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) and the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen (Qianhai Authority).

Supported by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the Ministry of Justice, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice, the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Secretariat for Administration and Justice of the Macao SAR Government, the forum focused on "Cross-Border Disputes and International Arbitration in the GBA for Chinese Enterprises."

Group photo of some participants in the forum.

Shenzhen venue.

Hong Kong SAR venue.

The forum gathered enterprise executives, experts, senior lawyers, arbitrators, judges, government representatives, and relevant international organization representatives from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and foreign countries. They analysed the trends and issues of cross-border disputes of Chinese enterprises and discussed dispute resolution pathways.

Dr. Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Dr. Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA. Zeng Pai, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Director of the Qianhai Authority, delivered a welcome speech, emphasizing the deepening of legal innovation and support for the GBA International Arbitration Center to play a full role in building an international legal service center and commercial dispute resolution hub.

Zeng Pai, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Director of the Qianhai Authority, delivered a welcome speech.

Tao Kaiyuan, Vice-President of the SPC and Deputy Chief Justice, delivered a keynote speech.

Tao Kaiyuan, Vice-President of the SPC and Deputy Chief Justice, delivered a keynote speech on behalf of the SPC, expressing continued support for Shenzhen in implementing the first batch of authorized items under the comprehensive reform pilot list, building the GBA International Arbitration Center based on Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, promoting the connection of arbitration legal rules and mechanisms, and creating a business environment with global competitiveness.

Jiang Jing, First-Level Inspector of the Bureau of Public Legal Services Administration of the Ministry of Justice, delivered a speech.

Lin Qingmiao, Director of the Policy and Regulation Bureau of the SASAC, delivered a speech.

Teresa Cheng, SC, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong SAR Government, delivered a speech.

Liu Dexue, Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, delivered a speech.

Chen Xudong, Director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice, delivered a speech.

During the opening ceremony, the "Qianhai International Arbitration Cooperation" launch ceremony took place.

Claudia Salomon, President of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Court), delivered a speech via video.

Meg Kinnear, Vice-President of The World Bank and Secretary-General of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), delivered a speech via video.

Rimsky Yuen, SC, Council Member of the SCIA, Co-Chairperson of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (HKIAC), and former Secretary for Justice of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR, delivered a speech via video.

The first session of the forum focused on "Cross-border Dispute Resolution Trends and Issues of Chinese Enterprises" and was chaired by Chen Weihua, Chairperson of the Forum and General Counsel of China Southern Airlines Co Ltd.

The second session of the forum, themed "International Arbitration in the GBA: Choices for Chinese Enterprises", was chaired by Prof. Huang Yaying, Council Member of the SCIA and Vice-Chairman of the China International Economic and Trade Law Association.

Shen Hongyu, Vice-President of Civil Adjudication Tribunal No 4 of the SPC

Subsequently, Shen Hongyu, Deputy Director of Civil Adjudication Tribunal No 4 of the SPC, summarized and commented on the session, stating that the dispute resolution in the GBA has unique advantages and can provide a "GBA solution" for Chinese enterprises to resolve cross-border disputes, offering better services for enterprises "going global".

Anthony Neoh, SC, Vice-Chairman of the SCIA Council, former Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law

At the closing ceremony, Anthony Neoh, SC, Vice Chairman of the SCIA Council, former Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law, summarized the forum. He pointed out that for common prosperity, the GBA should cooperate extensively, with executives, in-house legal counsels, lawyers, arbitration institutions, and courts to form a complementary relationship, jointly facing the world.

Prof. Shen Sibao, Chairman of the SCIA Council and Chairman of the China International Economic and Trade Law Association, delivered the closing speech. He stated that in order to keep pace with the global development trend, it is necessary to improve the level of arbitration services, cultivate talents in foreign-related arbitration, and introduce international arbitration in the GBA region to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Prof. Shen Sibao, Chairman of the SCIA Council and Chairman of the China International Economic and Trade Law Association, delivered the closing speech.

Group photo of some members of the Presidium of the South China Business & Law Forum.

Following the closing ceremony, two arbitration-themed exchange meetings were held simultaneously in Qianhai, Shenzhen, and Central, Hong Kong SAR. Professionals in different regions of China jointly looked forward to the future of international arbitration in the GBA.

As a sub-forum of this year's forum, the China High-tech Enterprises Roundtable Meeting with the theme of "Risk Prevention and Dispute Resolution of Chinese High-tech Enterprises in the New Situation of International Law" was held at the SCIA Tower on the morning of the same day. Senior management of 14 representative Chinese high-tech enterprises and experts from the Professional Guidance Committee of the China (Shenzhen) Intellectual Property Arbitration Center discussed in-depth the new issues faced by high-tech enterprises.

China High-tech Enterprises Roundtable Meeting