Xinjiang boosts foreign-related legal services

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's geographical advantages and role in China's westward opening-up are making it an increasingly attractive venue for commercial dispute resolution, officials and industry representatives said at the 2026 International Dialogue Conference on Commercial Dispute Resolution (Xinjiang) held in Urumqi on Friday.

The event brought together about 180 representatives from chambers of commerce, arbitration and mediation institutions, lawyers' associations and enterprises from countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Hosted by the International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization and organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Xinjiang Council, the conference featured discussions on cross-border commercial dispute governance and foreign-related legal services along the Silk Road Economic Belt, as well as cooperation on dispute resolution for open trade corridors and modern logistics.

Jia Kun, secretary-general of the ICDPASO Secretariat, said Xinjiang, as a bridgehead for China's westward opening-up, has become a preferred venue for commercial dispute resolution, making Urumqi a natural choice for hosting the dialogue. He added that the organizers plan to hold the event annually.

According to Gu Yan, vice-president of the Arbitration Court of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, the commission handled 245 Xinjiang-related cases over the past five years, involving about 7.7 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) in disputes. Sixty-nine cases involved Central Asian countries, with a combined value of about 1.4 billion yuan.

The cases mainly concerned cross-border trade, engineering and infrastructure, and investment cooperation. They involved multiple jurisdictions and significant cultural differences, while highlighting strong demand for dispute resolution options that are flexible, efficient, convenient and enforceable.

"This is both a practical challenge for arbitration and the starting point for dispute resolution institutions along the Silk Road Economic Belt to jointly build a resolution ecosystem," Gu said.

He added that nine of the commission's appointed arbitrators are from Central Asia, enabling them to take into account applicable laws, commercial practices and cultural contexts while bridging differences between legal traditions. The commission has accepted cases in which parties agreed to apply Kazakh and Uzbek law, and its arbitral awards have been recognized and enforced in both countries.

He Ying, vice-chairwoman of the CCPIT Xinjiang Council, said the council has made commercial legal services a key part of its work, providing enterprises with support ranging from commercial certification and compliance development to responses to trade frictions and dispute resolution.

The Urumqi-based CCPIT Central Asia Mediation Center and CIETAC Central Asia Trial Center are also providing accessible mediation and arbitration services to Chinese and foreign enterprises, she added.

Liu Jiannan, vice-chairman of the CCPIT, said the conference addressed the challenges enterprises face in cross-border operations and responded to the practical needs of regional trade development and the rule-of-law challenges arising from cross-border cooperation.

Temir Sariev, president of the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said disputes arising from expanding trade between China and Kyrgyzstan require fair and efficient resolution. Arbitration and other diversified dispute resolution mechanisms are therefore essential to creating a stable and predictable rule-of-law environment, he said.

A Urumqi initiative was also launched at the conference, calling for stronger information connectivity, mutual learning in policymaking and institutional exchanges, as well as joint efforts to promote international and bilateral dialogue.

Contact the writers at fangaiqing@chinadaily.com.cn