Shanghai eyes bigger role in settling global financial disputes

To promote the opening-up of the financial system at a higher level, Shanghai courts will create more exemplary foreign-related financial cases and cultivate more talent in foreign-related financial adjudication by deepening cooperation with universities, said the city's top court official on Thursday.

"Shanghai courts will also make efforts to build systems and practices to contribute to building the city into a preferred place for the resolution of international financial disputes," said Jia Yu, president of Shanghai High People's Court, during the International Symposium on the Rule of Law in Financial Regulation, part of the 2024 Lujiazui Forum.

Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, said in March that the total transaction volume of Shanghai's financial market in 2023 exceeded 3,300 trillion yuan ($455 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, and there were more than 1,770 licensed financial institutions in the city.

"Focusing on fairness and efficiency, Shanghai courts will strengthen the guiding function of judicial rules and improve their judicial ability in new business forms, such as digital finance, green finance, and cross-border finance," said Jia at the symposium themed "the Path of Rule of Law for High-quality Financial Development: China's Practice and International Experience."

"Digital thinking will also be prioritized when it comes to preventing and resolving financial risks at a higher level," he said during the symposium organized by the Chinese Courts International Exchanges Base (Shanghai) For Financial Judgment and Shanghai High People's Court.

A just, safe and inclusive environment can provide a more conducive soil for economic prosperity and development, said Chiann Bao, vice-president of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration.

"Economic development doesn't depend directly on the rule of law, but the rule of law can drive economic development, as evidenced by the various experiences of Eastern and Western countries. Continuous dialogue is of great importance," she said.

Yang Linping, vice-president of China's Supreme People's Court, said that domestic courts need to take a more international perspective today to respond to the new requirements and challenges brought about by opening-up of the financial system.

"Domestic courts must continue to strengthen the study of cross-border finance, offshore finance, and other new forms of financial cases and promote international exchanges and cooperation in the financial and judicial fields," she said.