Chongqing advances substantive development of foreign-related legal service platforms

In recent years, under the guidance of the Justice Bureau of Chongqing Municipality, the city's legal sector has leveraged platforms such as the China-ASEAN Legal Service Center, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor International Legal Services District, and the Chongqing Hub Port International Legal Service Alliance to advance the substantive operation of its foreign-related legal service platforms. Through institutional innovation, these platforms have moved from symbolic branding to effective operation.

Strict entry standards

Chongqing has issued guidelines for foreign-related legal service platforms, setting strict thresholds for facilities, professional teams, and stable funding to ensure effective operation.

As a service hub for the trade corridor, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor International Legal Services District has established nine functional stations covering foreign law ascertainment, mediation and arbitration, notarization and certification, and trade friction response. It has attracted seven types of institutions, including the Free Trade Zone Arbitration Center of the Chongqing Arbitration Commission, forming a full-chain foreign-related legal service system integrating judicial services, commercial mediation, notarization, arbitration, and think-tank support. To date, the service zone has signed agreements with 51 legal and business institutions, including 16 from overseas.

Similarly, the China-ASEAN Legal Service Center, benchmarking top domestic standards, has gathered more than 10 foreign-related legal service institutions. It provides one-stop, full-chain services covering cross-border investment, international trade, intellectual property (IP), finance, and commercial dispute resolution.

Government-enterprise collaboration

Chongqing has pioneered a model of government-led planning with market-oriented professional operations. A municipal and district dual-tier task force strengthens cross-departmental coordination, breaks administrative barriers, integrates core resources, and ensures policy support.

Under this mechanism, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor International Legal Services District has introduced six renowned law firms and established ties with legal institutions in Singapore, Switzerland, and other countries. Its operations team has surveyed logistics parks and local enterprises and developed over 10 specialized legal products, including cargo damage claim solutions for the China-Europe Railway Express and cross-border e-commerce compliance tools.

In April this year, the district held a livestreaming legal outreach session delivered by foreign-related lawyers and notaries. Using real and typical cases, they explained notarization and certification rules in key corridor countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, and Singapore. The session drew over 16,000 online viewers. To date, the district has hosted more than 10 legal and commercial exchange events and handled over 40,000 foreign-related notarization cases.

The China-ASEAN Legal Service Center has focused on strategic industries including new energy, electromechanical products, agriculture, digital economy, and cross-border logistics. It has formed specialized teams, adopted a full-cycle accompanying service model, and launched 12 flagship products in areas such as cross-border IP protection and diversified commercial dispute resolution, supporting over 100 major projects.

Outcome-oriented development

Chongqing is building an outcome-oriented closed-loop management system. The city's foreign-related legal service entities now offer comprehensive offline consultation windows and online platforms, ensuring round-the-clock access to basic services such as law ascertainment and information inquiry.

Meanwhile, a quantitative dynamic evaluation system has been established, with more than 10 specific assessment indicators across operational effectiveness, internationalization, and social influence. Rigorous annual evaluations are linked directly to policy support.

Guided by this framework, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor International Legal Services District has conducted more than 500 legal consultation sessions. It has led 10 grassroots procuratorates from six provincial-level regions — Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hunan — in building a cross-regional coordination mechanism for foreign-related rule of law, facilitating resource sharing, cross-border case collaboration, and coordinated regional governance.

In addition, the China-ASEAN Legal Service Center has launched an ASEAN Legal Query AI agent, collecting ASEAN laws, regulations, and commercial information to provide intelligent legal data support for enterprises along the corridor.

Differentiated, specialized platform development

Chongqing has advanced standardized and distinctive development of municipal foreign-related legal service platforms through a framework that combines universal standards with customized services.

Each platform has carved out its unique niche: the Western Land-Sea New Corridor International Legal Services District prioritizes operational support for trade and logistics; the China-ASEAN Legal Service Center specializes in high-level research and assessment of investment rules; and the Chongqing Hub Port International Legal Service Alliance focuses on foreign-related legal service resource matching. These platforms, featuring distinct functional priorities, have helped the city build a differentiated, coordinated pattern in the development of its foreign-related legal services.

Supported by these platforms, Chongqing saw significant growth in foreign-related legal service revenue in 2025, signaling progress toward a comprehensive, full-cycle legal service framework for enterprises going global.

By moving from symbolic branding to substantive operations and from isolated efforts to close collaboration, Chongqing's legal sector has undertaken pragmatic explorations in this field, building a solid legal safeguard for the city's development as an inland comprehensive opening-up hub.