China promotes commerce chambers' role in resolving private economic disputes

BEIJING — China is encouraging its chambers of commerce to play a bigger role in resolving economic disputes in the private sector in a bid to promote healthy development.

It is necessary to cultivate mediation organizations of chambers of commerce and let the judiciary lead and support their dispute resolution process, said a guideline made public by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) on Jan 27.

Efforts should be made to establish a dispute settlement system that facilitates effective linking between the mediation mechanism of chambers of commerce with litigation procedures, according to the document.

The federations of industry and commerce at all levels should standardize the operation of mediation organizations and make this kind of mediation an important channel to resolve disputes in the private economy.

The courts should guide related parties to choose the mediation organizations of the chambers of commerce as their prioritized means to resolve disputes, it said, adding that litigation procedures should be introduced in a timely manner if mediation fails to safeguard the litigant’s right of action.

In 2013, the SPC and the ACFIC launched a pilot mediation program for chambers of commerce in 21 units in 16 provinces across the country.

China has 47,000 chambers of commerce and about 1,520 mediation organizations affiliated to more than 3,400 federations of industry and commerce at all levels.