South China’s Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) officially established an international commercial dispute resolution center in Haikou on June 19, with the mediation of seven cases completed on opening day.

This is a major move for Hainan in developing a diversified international commercial dispute resolution mechanism as well as injecting new momentum for the improvement of the FTP’s international business environment.

An aerial photo shows the Guoxing Avenue Central Business District in Hainan’s Haikou City, home to the WGT (Windows to Global Trade) building and many trading companies. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

Set up in the Hainan First Intermediate People’s Court, the center provides a service area of 1,500 square meters, along with an online platform with a wide range of functions such as business credit report inquiries, litigation, arbitration, mediation, notarization, auditing, and extraterritorial law ascertainment.

According to Dai Jun, President of the Hainan High People's Court, the establishment of an international commercial dispute resolution center is a necessity for the high-level development of the Hainan FTP and to resolve the inevitably increasing number of international commercial disputes.

Wang Lei, Director of the Department of Justice of Hainan Province, stated that by providing high-quality, efficient, one-stop services for commercial disputes, the center will improve international investment confidence in the Hainan FTP.

Looking forward, Hainan will accelerate the legislation of commercial mediation, with the “Measures on the Development of International Commercial Arbitration in the Hainan Free Trade Port” slated to be implemented on July 1.

Additionally, the newly established center will bring in more well-known arbitration, notarization, and mediation institutions as well as high-level legal talent.

In 2022, Hainan was selected as one of China’s four pilot areas (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) for the development of international commercial arbitration centers. The Hainan International Arbitration Court has been included in the one-stop international commercial dispute resolution mechanism by China’s Supreme People’s Court.