In order to promote in-depth research on the Belt and Road issues and focus on legal services and practical cooperation in the construction of the Belt and Road, the Fourth Belt and Road Legal Service Forum & the Belt and Road High-level Forum on Security Cooperation and International Dispute Settlement were held at China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as CNISCO) on November 5, 2021. The forum is hosted by Shanghai University of Political Science and Law (hereinafter referred to as SHUPL) and Shanghai Arbitration Commission, organized by the Supreme People's Court Fourth Civil Division Judicial Research Centre for the Belt and Road Initiative (Shanghai University of Political Science and Law), Institute for Legal Research on the Belt and Road of Shanghai Law Society, Shanghai Institute for Global Security and Governance, Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for the Belt and Road Security Cooperation and China's Overseas Interests Protection, and co-organized by Duan & Duan Law Firm.
With the theme of “The Belt and Road Legal Services”, the forum adopted the combination of offline and online approaches, focusing on the construction and innovation of the Belt and Road economic and trade rules, the Belt and Road regional security, the Belt and Road dispute settlement, and the Belt and Road foreign-related legal talent cultivation and so on. Experts and scholars from universities at home and abroad including University of Oxford, Jilin University, Hebei University, Nantong University, Fudan University, Koguan School of Law of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai University, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai Maritime University, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, scientific research institutions including the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development，State Grid Energy Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and practical departments and working units such as Singapore International Arbitration Center, Dubai International Finance Centre Courts, Shanghai Arbitration Commission, Duan & Duan Law Firm, Zhong Lun Law Firm, attended the forum.
The forum consists of two parts. One is the plenary session and the other is panels. The plenary session includes four sections: an opening ceremony, keynote speeches, speeches by special guests, and an unveiling ceremony & the new book launching of the third volume of “Legal Research on the Belt and Road”.The opening ceremony was presided over by PAN Mutian, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee at SHUPL & Executive Vice President of Institute for Legal Research on the Belt and Road of Shanghai Law Society. Deputy Secretary of CPC Leadership Group & full-time Vice President of Shanghai Law Society SHI Weidong, President of SHUPL & Chairman of Shanghai Arbitration Commission & President of Institute for Legal Research on the Belt and Road of Shanghai Law Society & Director General of Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for the Belt and Road Security Cooperation and China's Overseas Interests Protection LIU Xiaohong attended and addressed the forum.
SHI Weidong pointed out that the rule of law is an important bind as well as an indispensable major basis and guarantee for the smooth joint construction of the Belt and Road. Calling for the rule of law has been throughout the Belt and Road construction. As the Belt and Road construction continues to advance, Firstly, China externally needs to guarantee the interests of related parties by legal means such as signing trade and investment agreements with countries and regions along the Belt and Road， and internally needs to establish a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment by improving its foreign-related legal system. Secondly, joint construction of the Belt and Road also requires countries to reach a consensus on the rule of law and gradually form an international legal community. Only by promoting the rule of law construction and the rule of law cooperation can we ensure high-quality development of the Belt and Road. SHI Weidong said the forum brought together numerous experts and scholars, leading figures in industries, legal colleagues, focusing on the rule of law research of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the construction of economic and trade rules, dispute settlement, national security, and overseas interests protection, Cultivation of foreign-related talents of the rule of law, and so on. He hoped that the forum can be an opportunity for the recruitment of insight and broad academic resources for the seeking of new ideas and the exploration of new approaches for future academic research.
LIU Xiaohong, on behalf of SHUPL, congratulated the successful opening of the Belt and Road Legal Service Forum and extended her warm welcome to all participating guests. LIU Xiaohong said that 2021 is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the eighth anniversary of the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past eight years, the Belt and Road Initiative has become the broadest and the largest platform for international cooperation and the most popular international public product. The political and legal conditions of countries and regions along the Belt and Road are complex and diverse. Different countries and regions have quite different regulations on national security, anti-monopoly, environmental protection, labor service, taxation, and industry restrictions, etc., and relevant laws are constantly adjusted due to changes in an external economic and political environment. Therefore, with the transformation of the Belt and Road Initiative to high-quality development, the academic circle, and the practical circle are required to further research on laws and policies of related countries and regions, further strengthen judicial cooperation among countries, and strengthen the efficient and rational settlement of disputes. At the same time, the promotion and smooth development of the Belt and Road legal service construction are also inseparable from a large number of high-quality foreign-related legal talents. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China selected 15 universities in China to set up graduate cultivation programs for Master of Law (foreign-related lawyers). SHUPL is honored to be selected as one of them, which will provide a major platform and more powerful guarantee for our university to further strengthen the cultivation of foreign-related high-end talents of the rule of law.
The keynote speech session was presided over by Professor CHEN Li, Vice President of Institute for Legal Research on the Belt and Road of Shanghai Law Society & Deputy Dean of School of Law of Fudan University. ZHANG Daogen, Former President of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences & Board Chairman of Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for the Belt and Road Security Cooperation and China's Overseas Interests Protection, GONG Baihua, President of Institute for International Law of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences & Professor of Fudan University, Mark Bell(online), Professor of Dispute Settlement Laboratory of University of Oxford, Huang Renwei, Executive Deputy Dean of Institute for the Belt and Road Global Governance of Fudan University and Chairman of Academic Board of Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for the Belt and Road Security Cooperation and China's Overseas Interests Protection, FAN Mingchao, Executive Deputy Director of Shanghai Arbitration Commission, SHEN Wei, Professor of Koguan School of Law of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, HE Zhipeng(online), Professor of School of Law of Jilin University, respectively delivered keynote speeches on topics of “ Thoughts on the Changing world Situation and China's Development”, “New Legal Issues of Investment along the Belt and Road”, “Eight Years of Belt and Road Success, and the Next Phase for Legal and Dispute Resolution Cooperation”, “Argument of the International Rules and International Order of the Belt and Road”, “The Belt and Road and Shanghai’s construction of global-oriented Asia-pacific Arbitration Center”, “The Belt and Road and Currency Fight -- Sovereignty Currency Lending, Debt Trap and Others”, and “Characteristics of the Belt and Road and the Direction of Dispute Settlement”.
The section for Special guest speeches is presided over by Professor GUAN Baoying, Counselor of Shanghai Municipal People's Government. ZHOU Hanmin, Vice Chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of Shanghai, delivered a wonderful speech entitled “The Construction of the Belt and Road should attach importance to the Competition and Cooperation of Domestic laws and international laws” as a special guest. ZHOU Hanmin pointed out that we should take the idea of “Extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits as a guiding idea to build a new global governance order of equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules, the core of which is to strengthen the rule of law guarantee for the Belt and Road. Thus there is a need for domestically strengthening theoretical research on the Belt and Road rule of law guarantee and innovation of its system. The rule of law construction of the Belt and Road is confronted with challenges in five aspects, which are external environment, enterprise-level, system-level, international laws, and domestic laws. In addition, ZHOU Hanmin suggested that enterprises should focus on three aspects. Firstly, Chinese enterprises must change their thoughts emphasizing industry over the business if they want to get into the outside world and to be recognized especially due diligence. The second is about corporate confidence. However, confidence has five does not mean. That is, confidence does not mean that disrespect on the guiding principle of business and legal thinking, does not mean that the fear of rules can be given up, does not mean that the respect for law can be abandoned, does not mean that foreseeable risks can be ignored, and does not mean that basic business principles can be renounced. The third is about cultural integration. Enterprises should respect the public order and good customs of investment places and reasonably implant Chinese culture and experience in stable operation.
In the course of the plenary session, an unveiling ceremony of Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for the Belt and Road Security Cooperation and China's Overseas Interests Protection was held, and the third volume of a new book“Legal Research on the Belt and Road” was launched.
In the three panels, experts and scholars respectively carried out in-depth discussions on topics including the construction and innovation of the Belt and Road economic and trade rules, the Belt and Road security cooperation, the Belt and Road dispute settlement, and the cultivation of foreign-related talents of the rule of law.
The closing ceremony was presided over by SHI Qibao, Director of Department of Development and Planning & Director of Office of Discipline Construction of SHUPL. School of Trade Negotiation of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics Lecturer YANG Limin, School of Government Administration of SHUPL Professor YANG Yousun, and School of International Law of SHUPL Deputy Dean SHI Jianping, respectively reported specific discussion results on behalf of each panel. Wu Jian, Executive Chairman of the Global Board of Directors of Duan & Duan Law Firm, and XU Guojian, Distinguished Dean of School of International Law of SHUPL, addressed the closing ceremony.
This forum has become a grand gathering of legal workers engaged in legal teaching, research, and service work, and a good platform for their mutual communication, discussion, and learning. In the forum, many experts, scholars, and practitioners, guided by the exchange of ideas and supported by practical cooperation, pooled their wisdom and spoke their minds, which provided more ideas for solutions to problems and intellectual support for the Belt and Road construction.