Belt and Road Initiative legal study base launched in Beijing

A base for studying legal issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative was launched at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Thursday.

It is the China Law Society's seventh legal study base and the only one dedicated to the initiative.

"We hope the base can become a top think tank for pushing forward the initiative and effectively coming up with solutions for the problems and risks faced by Chinese enterprises involved," said Zhang Mingqi, deputy head of the society.

He described the base as a cradle of education for Chinese lawyers, which would enable them to better handle legal cases in foreign countries.

Zhang Wei, deputy head of Beijing Lawyers Association, said the base would help improve lawyers' abilities to provide legal services in foreign disputes, adding that it is necessary to increase cooperation and build a system to educate legal talent.

Also on Thursday, a number of law professionals attended a seminar focused on the initiative that was held in the university. They had a heated discussion on how to better apply international law to foreign investments and disputes.

Chen Fuyong, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Arbitration Commission, suggested China voice its opinion more when international rules or conventions were being made.

"We should also be familiar with the rules and know how to make use of them," he said.

Liu Jingdong, a deputy chief judge of the Supreme People's Court, said diverse solutions were needed to tackle civil and commercial disputes concerning the initiative.

"For example, we could set up a special court for such cases," he said.

Liu Chao, deputy head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's law affairs department, called on industrial and commercial members to play their role in improving the initiative.

"We're building multilateral and bilateral business cooperation commissions and gathering more experts to provide related services," he said, adding that China should aim to increase prevention of trade disputes and take advantage of mediation to solve related cases.