Guangxi, HK boost legal cooperation for coordinated regional development

In recent years, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in South China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) have strengthened cooperation in addressing pressing livelihood issues, resolving cross-border disputes, and leveraging talent advantages.

A comprehensive legal framework has been established to facilitate cross-border dispute resolution, promote innovation in legal services and cultivate versatile legal professionals, enhancing legal connectivity between the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

A significant step forwards was marked in December last year with the official launch of the Hong Kong Professional Services GoGlobal Platform, underscoring Hong Kong's support for mainland enterprises expanding overseas. The platform is due to release a list of professional sectors assisting businesses in global ventures, enabling effective matching between businesses and Hong Kong-based professional services.

A professional services expert committee has also been formed to provide strategic advice to the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR government and to support the platform's promotion and operation.

The launch of the platform is widely said to have built an important bridge for deepening legal cooperation between Guangxi and Hong Kong and safeguarding the cross-border growth of enterprises in both regions.

In September 2024, the Guinan Notary Office introduced the Work Procedures for Document Certification in Foreign-Related Notary Cases. It offers one-stop services for individuals in need of consular certification, supplementary certification attachments and notarization verification for Hong Kong-related matters. This initiative is seen as having strengthened broader public trust in the justice system concerning livelihood affairs and made legal services more accessible to residents of both Guangxi and Hong Kong.

Through mechanisms for one-stop government services, Guangxi's notary sector provides integrated legal services combining notarization and consular certification. A dedicated service window for foreign-related notarization and consular certification has been set up at the autonomous region's government service center. It ensures one-stop processing through streamlined single-window reception.

In recent years, legal collaboration between Guangxi and Hong Kong has expanded from livelihood-related areas to cross-border disputes resolution, reinforcing support for enterprises going global through an improved legal services framework.

Furthermore, Guangxi has invited Hong Kong mediators to assist in resolving foreign-related disputes and engaged industry experts to address gaps in specialized commercial mediation knowledge.

By December in 2025, the Guangxi International Civil and Commercial Mediation Center had successfully resolved 57 cross-border disputes involving parties from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, as well as foreign countries.

Meanwhile, law firms and universities in Guangxi and Hong Kong law firms have jointly developed legal service products such as A Practical Legal Guide for Chinese Enterprises Expanding to ASEAN and the White Paper on Chinese Lawyers Going Global.

Guangxi lawyers have played a pivotal role in handling a wide range of Hong Kong-related cases involving areas such as bankruptcy liquidation, arbitration preservation, maritime affairs, and contract litigation, providing a solid legal safeguard for cross-border trade and the overseas expansion of businesses.

To foster a more dynamic legal talent pool, Guangxi and Hong Kong have enhanced partnerships and exchange programs to cultivate versatile legal professionals who are proficient in mainland, Hong Kong and ASEAN regulations.

Both regions have made multifaceted efforts to advance talent development, including organizing regular exchange programs, joint training sessions and mutual visits.

In 2024, the Justice Department of Guangxi issued the Implementation Plan for Supporting the Cultivation of Foreign-Related Legal Professionals in Guangxi. This strengthens the reserve of foreign-related lawyers and encourages Guangxi lawyers to participate in the registration process for practicing in Hong Kong.

In 2025, 52 industry experts were added to Guangxi's foreign-related legal professionals roster. The region's foreign-related lawyers have further enhanced their expertise by participating in training sessions organized by the Ministry of Justice and the All-China Lawyers Association, as well as through collaborative programs with Hong Kong legal professionals.

In addition, Guangxi has collaborated with Hong Kong and Macao universities through the China-ASEAN Law School to launch a course on legal practices in the GBA.

Meanwhile, the Justice Bureau of Wuzhou, Guangxi, has partnered with Wuzhou University to establish a research base on the development of the rule of law, exploring legal services cooperation between Guangdong province and Guangxi.

Through multi-party efforts, a collaborative framework for talent cultivation between Guangxi and Hong Kong has taken shape — providing robust support to talent for the high-quality development of foreign-related rule of law in the autonomous region.

Moreover, the concerted legal collaboration between Guangxi and Hong Kong has significantly enhanced accessibility to livelihood-related legal services, strengthened support for cross-border trade and boosted talent development.

Overall, this legal synergy transcending geographical boundaries promotes connectivity between the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the GBA, while providing sustained legal support for regional integration and development.