Foreign mediators are expected to participate in dispute resolution in Beijing courts to improve the judiciary's capacity to handle foreign-related affairs.
"We encourage the participation because foreign mediators are more familiar with laws, customs and trading habits in areas where they're from, which will help courts across the city better solve foreign-related commercial cases," said Wang Shumei, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's No 4 Civil Division. Wang also said, “courts nationwide have seen the number of foreign-related cases grow rapidly and Beijing courts need to strengthen their capacity to deal with foreign-related affairs, as the city is the country's international exchange center, and the establishment of ‘two zones’ (a comprehensive demonstration zone for the expansion of the national service industry and a pilot free trade zone featuring technological innovation, open service industry and digital economy) brings about new and higher requirements for the judiciary in this area".
A focus on building a foreign-related legal system was also written into the recently adopted Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.
Source:
http://english.court.gov.cn/2021-03/30/content_37543746.htm (English)