Arbitration in China

Abstract

Since 1978, with China entering into the era of “reform and opening up”, the drive towards economic modernization via the policy of attracting foreign investment has been pressing. Although China has promulgated an impressive body of laws and regulations concerning foreign trade and investment, their enforcement has been less than satisfactory. In view of the lack of competence of Chinese courts and the reluctance of Chinese firms to put their fate in the hands of foreign courts, the Beijing government sought to develop a competent system of arbitration. Reform measures have been taken to ensure that the Chinese arbitration system is consistent with international standards in order to attract investment from foreign parties.

Providing an overview of arbitration in China with a discussion on arbitral regulations and recent arbitral developments, this book chapter looks at the special features of China’s arbitration, its international commercial arbitration practice, and the enforcement of arbitral awards in China. To contextualize these developments, the author has attempted to analyze the rules and practices in the light of wider social and economic reality of China. This chapter concludes that the formation of a modern and liberal arbitration environment is still critical to China’s trade and investment interests.