China and 45 other countries and regions signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, or the Singapore Convention on Mediation, in Singapore on Aug 7.

Li Chenggang, assistant minister of commerce of China, led a delegation to attend the signing ceremony and inked the convention on behalf of China.

The convention now will be presented for signature in the United Nations' headquarters in New York.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation was formulated by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law after four years’ effort and approved by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018.

It aims to resolve the cross-border enforcement problems occurring when implementing conciliation agreements on international commercial disputes.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation has further improved the meditation system to resolve international commercial disputes, said Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister of Singapore, adding that the signatures of various countries and regions show international society’s consensus on the importance of multilateralism.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, congratulated the signatories of the convention via a video call and said that it has strengthened the international rule of law on resolving commercial disputes and reflects the value of multilateralism.