Xi’an to be a highland of international commercial legal services

The Belt and Road Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services (BRD-ICLS) was established on Dec 1 in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, Northwest China, to help build the city into a highland of international commercial legal services.

On December 1, just before National Constitution Day on Dec 4, the Ministry of Justice and Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government jointly held the unveiling ceremony of three centers and one base at Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park: the Xi’an Center of China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Legal Service Committee, the Xi’an Center of the Belt and Road Lawyer Union, the Xi'an Center for the Belt and Road International Commercial Dispute Settlement, and the National Biosafety Evidence Base.

The Belt and Road Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services (BRD-ICLS) is located in Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park, which is China's largest inland port and the only one with international and domestic codes. It is a key zone for international trade activities in China’s middle and western areas, as well as the hub linking China and the countries covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to Sun Yimin, secretary of the Party working committee and director of the management committee of Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park, the demonstration zone covers the whole planning and construction area of Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park with an area of 89.89 square kilometers. The core functions of the demonstration zone are international commercial litigation, mediation, arbitration, legal services, judicial personnel cooperation and international law identification research, and the zone will be built as a fully-formed chain of international commercial legal service guarantee systems. It will include the second International Commercial Court under the Supreme People's Court, the Sixth Circuit Court, the three newly-built centers, the Arbitration Court of Shaanxi Free Trade Zone, and Xi'an Intellectual Property Court, as well as established law firms and research institutions, as its important functional support.

“The demonstration zone will establish a mechanism of international commercial dispute settlement and non-competition legal services with Chinese characteristics, expand and strengthen the legal services industry, foster the development of legal services, extend industries and markets, and create a high level of international commercial legal services in Xi'an in order to serve China’s central and western regions, as well as the countries along the Silk Road,” Sun said.

With the demonstration zone’s further development, the international commercial legal services will effectively solve international disputes in cross-border financial trade and infrastructure construction, international logistics, maritime and intellectual property rights, in order to further promote international trade and cooperation between China and the countries and regions covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, Sun added.