CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ernest Yang, Xiaoshan Chen, Han Ma and Dewey Song, DLA Piper UK LLP
DLA Piper UK LLP 25th Floor, Three Exchange Square 8 Connaught Place Central Hong Kong China Tel: +852 2103 0808 Fax: +852 2810 1345 Email: han.ma@kaimanlegal.com Web: www.dlapiper.com
Introduction In recent years, China has witnessed significant advancements in its international arbitration land - scape, demonstrating a commitment to aligning its practices with global standards and enhancing its attractiveness as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. Key developments in 2024 and 2025 highlighted this trend and showcased a series of legislative, judicial and institutional reforms aimed at modernising and internationalising China’s arbitration framework. Central to this development is the ongoing amend - ment of China’s Arbitration Law, which underscores China’s consistent legislative intent to support arbitra - tion. Complementing these efforts, judicial interpreta - tions and landmark decisions have also evolved to grant parties greater liberty and flexibility in choosing their preferred dispute resolution mechanisms. Cross-jurisdictional collaboration has also been strengthened, with the establishment of reciprocal offices by major arbitration institutions like the Shang - hai International Arbitration Centre (SHIAC) in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in Beijing. These moves symbolise the deepening mutual recognition and co-operation between Mainland China and Hong Kong in the realm of arbitration. Concurrently, pioneering reforms in Shanghai and Hainan have legitimised ad hoc arbitration for specific commercial disputes, offering parties adaptable alter - natives. Procedural breakthroughs in judicial support further mark China’s ongoing arbitration modernisa -
tion, with courts now preserving and enforcing arbitral tribunals’ interim measures and evidence-collection orders. Innovations like the early dismissal procedure and fast-track mediation-arbitration procedure have also been implemented to provide cost-effective alter - native dispute resolution mechanisms. These developments collectively signal a commend - able trend of judicial support for efficient and effec - tive arbitration. They position China as an increasingly arbitration-friendly jurisdiction and solidify its role as a leading venue for international commercial arbitration. Finally, the increasing global recognition and enforce - ment of awards rendered by Chinese arbitration institutions across diverse jurisdictions underscores growing international confidence in China’s arbitral framework. Amendment of the Arbitration Law On 27 April 2025, the 15th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress reviewed the “Amendment of the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China (Second Draft)”. The draft amendment introduces several important adjust - ments to the 2017 Arbitration Law, including the fol - lowing. Introducing the concept of “place of arbitration” The place of arbitration is one of the most important elements in an arbitration agreement. It is commonly used to determine the nationality of the arbitration award, the applicable procedural rules and which court has the power to set aside the award. The 2017
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