BRI legal service association formed

China will provide better legal services to businesses operating in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative as BRI projects expand in scale and the demand for specialized legal services, risk mitigation mechanisms and dispute resolution systems grows, legal practitioners said.

Speaking at the International Forum on Belt and Road Legal Services on Sunday in the city of Xiamen, Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, said the Belt and Road Initiative aims to create a "road of happiness" benefiting nations worldwide. He emphasized the importance of the rule of law in strengthening international cooperation and ensuring sustainable development under the initiative, which involves more than 150 countries and regions.

He called for joint efforts to align laws, policies, and regulations among participating countries, enhance cooperation in legal services such as arbitration and mediation, and develop mechanisms for law enforcement collaboration and cross-border dispute resolution.

With increasing international economic and trade exchanges and cross-border investments, the demand for legal services for business entities involved in the BRI is rising. The role of the rule of law in promoting the high-quality development of the BRI is also becoming more important, said Wang Junfeng, head of the Belt and Road International Legal Services Association, which was established on Sunday.

"The newly established association aims to help enterprises efficiently resolve cross-border disputes and continuously optimize the business environment," said Wang during the forum.

The China-initiated organization will optimize legal service resources across the entire chain of lawyers, arbitration, commercial mediation and other legal services in countries and regions participating in the BRI, providing professional legal teams, organizational support and diverse legal platforms for businesses.

Currently, Chinese law firms have established 207 branches in 37 countries and regions, with 73 branches set up in BRI-participating countries and regions. Meanwhile, the number of lawyers engaged in international legal services has exceeded 12,000. The parties involved in international arbitration cases now come from more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Since its launch in 2013, the BRI has evolved into a critical framework for advancing global infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation and economic integration. Its success relies not only on financial investments, but also on robust legal frameworks and rule-of-law guarantees, as commercial disputes in BRI projects are inevitable, said Ismail Selim, president of the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions.

"BRI projects involve complex transnational transactions that require harmonizing legal disparities across jurisdictions," Selim said. "Participating countries operate under diverse legal systems, creating challenges in contract enforcement, intellectual property protection and regulatory compliance. Legal practitioners must bridge these gaps by drafting agreements that align with both local regulations and international standards."

Gao Zicheng, chairman of the All China Lawyers Association, said the most common cross-border legal issues enterprises and citizens face include intellectual property rights, environmental protection, and foreign investment and financing.

The number of foreign-related consultations on business operations under the BRI received by lawyers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which is the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, has seen an average annual increase of 30 percent in recent years, said Geng Baojian, head of the Xinjiang Lawyers Association.