Zhejiang pioneers innovative approaches to foreign-related dispute resolution

In recent years, East China's Zhejiang province has actively integrated into the country's high-level opening-up strategy. By improving foreign-related legal services, strengthening its mediation capacities for foreign-related disputes, and enhancing legal safeguards in foreign affairs, the province has promoted diversified solutions for such disputes, striving to achieve landmark achievements in foreign-related rule of law with Zhejiang characteristics.

Establishing institutions

In November 2025, the Zhejiang Business Foreign-Related Legal Service Center was officially launched as a public institution specializing in foreign-related legal affairs. It offers a full range of services, including legal consultation, commercial mediation, arbitration, and notarization.

The center brings together more than 160 legal service institutions and over 1,500 foreign-related legal professionals from within and outside the province. Utilizing the overseas branches of domestic law firms, it has set up 409 service points across 98 countries and 138 major cities worldwide.

This closely connected global network provides guidance and support to enterprises — helping Zhejiang businesses go global while attracting foreign investment into the province.

To date, the center has offered legal support to over 600 enterprises and handled more than 1,500 service inquiries.

At the Pinghu Smart Innovation Park in Pinghu city's national economic and technological development zone, a dedicated legal service station has been set up to address the foreign-related legal needs of high-tech enterprises in fields such as 3D printing and chip manufacturing. The center provides various services — ranging from legal publicity, consultations, and aid to mediation — along with value-added services such as legal risk assessments and notarization. This has created an efficient closed-loop system, where enterprises can have their legal needs met in one visit — or even without visiting at all.

In addition, the Yiwu Municipal People's Procuratorate has been actively building its foreign-related procuratorial brand by setting up liaison stations and offering services including case handling supervision, legal consultations, dispute resolution, and risk prevention, thereby providing robust legal safeguards for foreign-invested enterprises.

Foreign participation in dispute resolution

Zhejiang has upheld and developed the "Fengqiao Experience" — a successful model of grassroots dispute resolution — and is actively exploring innovative approaches to settling foreign-related disputes.

In Shaoxing city, the Keqiao District Branch of the Public Security Bureau has stepped up its efforts to protect enterprises and improve the business environment, forming a volunteer police team to assist in resolving foreign-related disputes.

The dispatched tribunal of the Keqiao District People’s Court, located in the China Textile City — the world's largest textiles distribution hub in Keqiao — has developed an intelligent copyright adjudication system that enables traceable originality, measurable innovations, and determinable infringement judgments.

Moreover, Yiwu city has innovated in establishing a foreigner-engagement mediation mechanism. It has assembled a mediation team consisting of 20 foreign mediators, paired with 22 local mediators from chambers of commerce and industry associations. The team mediates cross-border trade disputes to further improve the business environment.

Fairness and efficiency

As a province with a highly export-oriented economy, courts across Zhejiang are positioning themselves as a preferred destination for resolving international commercial and maritime disputes.

In international commercial trials, courts in Hangzhou have enhanced the resolution of cross-border commercial disputes and ensured equal protection of the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign parties alike.

Beyond adjudications, such equal protection is reflected in institutional innovation. Through measures such as online asynchronous mediation and trial, cross-border online authorization, cloud-based evidence verification, bilingual (Chinese-English) court procedures and litigation document templates, Hangzhou courts have significantly improved the efficiency of cross-border dispute resolution, delivering efficient and convenient judicial services to domestic and international parties.

In March 2023, the Ningbo International Commercial Tribunal was officially inaugurated. Over the past three years, it has handled 308 cases with a total disputed value of nearly 6.28 billion yuan ($921 million), involving parties from 31 countries and regions.