Jiangsu enhances foreign-related legal services to support high-level opening-up

Jiangsu province in East China is pioneering innovative approaches to advance the high-quality development of foreign-related legal services. By establishing a robust legal service network that is both locally grounded and globally connected, Jiangsu is fostering systematic, platform-based, and efficient growth in this field. This dynamic framework provides strong legal support for the province's high-level opening-up.

Building high-caliber service platforms

In October last year, the Jiangsu (Nanjing) Foreign-Related Legal Service Center was officially launched. Offering comprehensive functions including integrated services for foreign-related matters, diversified  resolution for international commercial and maritime disputes, legal support for enterprises engaged in overseas business, and the cultivation of foreign-related legal talent, the center provides high-quality, one-stop legal services to help businesses address cross-border legal challenges.

Alongside accelerating the development of Nanjing and Suzhou as provincial hubs for foreign-related legal services, the Justice Department of Jiangsu has leveraged local advantages and resources to establish specialized platforms across the province. These include a new energy dispute arbitration center in Changzhou, a China–South Korea legal service platform in Yancheng, and a foreign trade legal service port in Nantong. Through these targeted initiatives, enterprises gain access to professional and convenient legal assistance, facilitating both inbound investment and overseas expansion.

Strengthening professional and targeted services

Jiangsu has also made significant progress in enhancing coordination and cooperation among foreign-related legal service resources. Initiatives include hosting a promotion event for the province's foreign-related legal services in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), exploring cooperation mechanisms with overseas Chinese and diaspora lawyer groups, and supporting Jiangsu-based law firms in partnering with firms in the Hong Kong and Macao SARs and establishing branches abroad. These efforts aim to help the province build a rapid response global legal service network.

Furthermore, the province has organized legal outreach sessions to assist local enterprises in going global and has issued more than 30 legal guides in areas such as overseas investment in solar energy. These measures have significantly enhanced the professionalism and internationalization of Jiangsu's foreign-related legal services.

Innovating an integrated support system

Jiangsu has cultivated 222 specialized legal service entities spanning areas such as foreign-related law, arbitration, notarization, and mediation.

Notably, the Nanjing Arbitration Commission has been included in the Ministry of Justice's program to develop world-class arbitration institutions. In collaboration with Nanjing Normal University, the commission has established a foreign law ascertainment center, promoting institutionalized, standardized, and substantive operations.

In addition, the province has built a multidimensional talent cultivation system that integrates platform building, collaborative training with academic institutions, and practical skill development. It has established two national and five provincial-level collaborative training bases for foreign-related legal talent, appointed 40 expert mentors, and selected 91 lawyers for the national foreign-related lawyer talent pool.

Meanwhile, 45 lawyers from Jiangsu have been included in the national foreign-related leading talent pool, and one notary from the province has been recommended to serve on an intercontinental commission of the International Union of Notaries.