Yunnan forms dedicated foreign-related legal service team to support China-South Asia Expo

The 10th China-South Asia Expo (CSAE) was held in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, from June 11 to 16. To ensure the smooth operation of foreign-related economic and trade activities during the expo, the Justice Department of Yunnan established a dedicated foreign-related legal service team to provide on-site legal support throughout the event.

Composed of 23 experienced legal professionals, the team provided legal services in English, as well as Southeast Asian languages including Burmese, Lao and Thai, to support cooperation between Chinese and foreign merchants, cross-border trade exchanges, and overseas investments by Chinese enterprises. This initiative upgraded foreign-related legal services for the CSAE from fragmented support to systematic, professional, and targeted guarantees.

The team delivered one-stop, pro bono legal services for exhibitors, overseas merchants, and foreign-related business entities. Its services covered key areas including compliance consultation for cross-border trade, interpretation of foreign investment laws, legal risk alerts, guidance on foreign-related commercial dispute mediation, cross-border intellectual property protection, foreign-related arbitration and notarization, and compliance capacity building for enterprises going global.

It aimed to address prominent issues such as legal information asymmetry in cross-border cooperation and ineffective risk prevention and control, ensuring the safe, standardized, and orderly operation of economic and trade activities at the expo.

Leveraging the role of the CSAE as a professional exchange platform, the team extended the reach of its legal services. Team members were invited to participate in thematic sessions on tax, investment, and mergers and acquisitions in South and Southeast Asia in support of the Belt and Road Initiative, and on China-Myanmar investment promotion and exchanges, where they delivered lectures on foreign-related tax and compliance.

These efforts demonstrated the capabilities of the Kunming South and Southeast Asia Legal Service Center in supporting cross-border compliance, commercial dispute resolution, country-specific legal research, and foreign-related legal exchange, further smoothening legal channels for Sino-foreign economic and trade cooperation and facilitating stable and sustainable bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

It was the first time that the Justice Department of Yunnan had provided on-site support for the CSAE through a dedicated foreign-related legal service team. It also marked an important step by the province's judicial administration system to proactively serve Yunnan's high-level opening-up and support its development as a key gateway to South and Southeast Asia.

During the expo, the team provided more than 300 legal consultations and distributed over 1,600 copies of various promotional materials.

Moving forward, the Justice Department of Yunnan will continue to integrate and optimize foreign-related legal resources, and strengthen the building of a high-caliber, multilingual, and versatile foreign-related legal service team.

It will also continue to improve the quality of legal services for cross-border trade, foreign investment, and regional cooperation, while polishing Yunnan's brand as a hub for foreign-related legal services, so as to provide robust legal support for deepening the province’s economic and trade cooperation with South and Southeast Asia and advancing its opening-up at a higher level.