On March 15, 2023, Dr. ZHAO Jian, a senior consultant of Zhonglun Law Firm and the former Vice President of the Arbitration Court of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), gave a lecture titled "International Commercial Arbitration: Global Trends and China's Response" at Fudan University. The lecture was moderated by Prof. CHEN Li, with Dr. LIU Guiqiang and Dr. LIU Yang as the commentators. The audience had a full discussion on the content of the lecture.

The lecture started from several late trends of international commercial arbitration, discussed their underlying causes, and made suggestions and prospects on the building of international arbitration hubs in the new era in China.

Dr. ZHAO first introduced the recent trends in international commercial arbitration. He highlighted that the leading power of international commercial arbitration is shifting from the West to the East, becoming harmonized, parties-oriented, digitalized and integrated. In a more open and transparent process, the green transformation of arbitration is also emerging. During the lecture, Dr. ZHAO also shared his own experience in arbitration practice. For example, when talking about the digitalization in arbitration, Dr. Zhao referred to his efforts in exploring online arbitration rules under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at CIETAC, which manifested the combination of arbitration and technology.

Dr. ZHAO then summarized the factors that may contribute to those trends. He provided five relevant factors, including economic globalization, internationalism in commercial arbitration, the decisive power of the merchant society, technological revolution, and the outbreak of COVID-19. With China standing at the new historical crossroads, Dr. ZHAO suggested that China should follow the trend and speed up the construction of international arbitration hubs. He presented specific proposals including perfecting China’s arbitrational legal systems, optimizing judicial environment, strengthening administrative support, accelerating the development of arbitration institutions, facilitating international exchanges and cooperation, and cultivating international arbitration talents.

In the discussion session, Prof. CHEN Li pointed out that Dr. ZHAO’s lecture not only generalized the development of international arbitration from a macro perspective, but also provided insights into micro details, reflecting his rich theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom.

Dr. LIU Yang firstly echoed Dr. ZHAO’s view on the internationalization of commercial arbitration and stressed the need for geographical flexibility in international commercial arbitration. He then mentioned the importance of fostering consensus among the “arbitration community”. He also emphasized that law schools shall pay more attention to training in substantive law for future arbitration professionals.

Dr. LIU Guiqiang suggested that the building of an international arbitration hub in China is a two-dimensional process, including enhancing the internationalization of Chinese arbitration and promoting international arbitration with Chinese characteristics. He also discussed with Dr. ZHAO about the influence of cities on the establishment of international arbitration hubs and the performance of Chinese parties in international commercial arbitration.

After the discussion session, the audience had a lively interaction with Dr. ZHAO Jian on arbitration-related issues. At the end of the lecture, Prof. CHEN Li expressed her gratitude to the participants. Dr. ZHAO Jian’s lecture drew a great round of applause from the audience, with which the lecture came to a successful conclusion.