To mark the 45th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and prepare for the 15th National Games in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (also known as the South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, GBA International Arbitration Center, hereinafter referred to as the "SCIA"), the China Commission of Arbitration for Sport (CCAS), and the Sports Arbitration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China jointly signed a cooperation agreement in Qianhai, Shenzhen on 23 August 2025. Together they also held a nationwide training programme for sports arbitrators, giving practical effect to the reform mandate stating that SCIA and CCAS shall jointly explore the resolution of sports disputes and international cooperation in arbitration.
Ding Tao, Director of the Sports Arbitration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China and Deputy Director of the CCAS, along with Anthony Neoh, SC, Vice Chairman of the SCIA Council and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong) (SCIAHK), attended the event and delivered speeches.
On behalf of the CCAS and the Sports Arbitration Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, Ding Tao and Liu Xiaochun, President of SCIA, signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement aims to deepen cooperation and foster innovative collaboration to support the development of a leading sports nation and internationally renowned sports cities.
This collaboration is a key step in exploring avenues for resolving sports disputes and fostering the international growth of sports arbitration. It also delivers a concrete breakthrough in China's wider sports-sector reform. It aims to further enhance the "four cross-border" functions of international sports arbitration — namely "cross-border jurisdiction over cases, cross-border application of laws, cross-border enforcement of arbitral awards, and cross-border sharing of resources" — as well as leverage the unique advantages of the GBA, which features "one country, two systems, and three legal jurisdictions".
The project will knit the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR into a single arena where sports and commercial arbitration reinforce each other, and jointly develop an international sports arbitration hub focused on Asia. It will also support the high-quality development of sports programs and the sports industry.
Following the signing ceremony, a national sports arbitrator training session took place. Experts and scholars, including Zhang Jian, President of Beijing Sport University, and Lu Song, Vice President of the China Commission of Arbitration for Sports, gave lectures on topics such as the reform and innovation of sports arbitration in China, arbitrators' professional ethics, sports arbitration rules, and practical cases in sports arbitration. Over 80 representatives from the sports and legal sectors participated in the professional exchange.
