Article 1 To ensure the registration of business offices established by foreign arbitration institutions in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and to facilitate the development of China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Administrative Measures is hereby formulated in accordance with relevant regulations in conjunction with the actual circumstances.

Article 2 The Administrative Measures shall be applicable to the registration administration of business offices established by foreign arbitration institutions in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and related activities thereof.

The term "foreign arbitration institution" mentioned herein shall refer to any non-profit arbitration institutions legally established in foreign countries and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Region of China, as well as arbitration institutions established by international organizations that China has joined.

Article 3 Foreign arbitration institutions may, after registration, set up their business offices in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone to provide foreign-related arbitration services for civil and commercial disputes in the fields such as international business and investment.

A business office established by a foreign arbitration institution in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as "a business office") shall not further set up any branches or dispatched agencies.

Article 4 The head, staff and arbitrators of a business office, when they work and live in China, shall abide by the laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, observe the professional code of ethics, and shall not harm China's national and social public interests or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations.

Article 5 A business office and its relevant staff shall be protected by law while carrying out arbitration activities in accordance with the law.

Article 6 Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the "Municipal Bureau of Justice") shall be in charge of the registration of business offices established by foreign arbitration institutions in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and shall be responsible for regulating their foreign-related arbitration activities in accordance with the law.

Article 7 A foreign arbitration institution applying for establishing a business office in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone shall meet the following conditions:

(1) it has been legally established overseas;

(2) it has substantially engaged in arbitration and related dispute resolution activities for over five (5) years; 

(3) it has a high public credibility and a strong international influence;

(4) the person to be appointed as the head of the business office has full capacity for civil conducts as stipulated by the laws of the People's Republic of China and has not been subjected to any criminal penalties for any intentional offense; and

(5) the person to be appointed as the head of the business office shall work full-time, and neither the head nor other staff may hold posts in other institutions at the same time.

Article 8 A foreign arbitration institution applying for establishing a business office in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone shall file an application with the Municipal Bureau of Justice and submit the following materials in duplicate:

(1) an application for the establishment of the business office;

(2) documents to certify its legal establishment overseas;

(3) a statement and a letter of commitment specifying that it has met the requirements stipulated in Item (2) to (5) of Article 7 hereof; and

(4) its articles of association, arbitration rules and list of members with their brief introductions.

Any material in a foreign language shall be attached with the Chinese translation, and the Chinese version shall prevail.

Article 9 The Municipal Bureau of Justice shall, within five (5) working days upon receipt of the application materials, inform the applicant whether to accept its application, or to inform the applicant all at once of all the materials that are required to be supplemented or corrected; and shall decide whether to approve its application for registration within twenty (20) days from the date of formal acceptance of its application. If a decision cannot be made within twenty (20) days, an extension for ten (10) days may be granted with the approval of the person in charge of the Municipal Bureau of Justice, and the applicant shall be informed of the reasons for the extension.

The Municipal Bureau of Justice shall report the registered items of a business office to the Ministry of Justice for documentation within ten (10) working days from the date of decision to approve the application for registration, and shall issue the registration certificate to the business office after the Ministry of Justice assigns a unified social credit code thereto.

Article 10 A business office shall, within three (3) months from the date on which the Municipal Bureau of Justice issues the registration certificate, submit the following materials to the Municipal Bureau of Justice for documentation:

(1) a description of basic information of the business office, including but not limited to its name, domicile, head and business scope;

(2) the list of arbitrators/experts or recommended arbitrators/experts (if any); and the certificate of the domicile of the business office;

(3) registration form and personal ID materials of the head and staff of the business office; and

(4) a copy of the tax registration certificate, a specimen of seal and a bank account.

Where it fails to submit the materials specified in the preceding paragraph for documentation within the prescribed time limit due to special reasons, an application for extension may be filed with the Municipal Bureau of Justice.

Article 11 In case of any change in the information of a business office that has been registered or reported for documentation, the business office shall report the relevant information to the Municipal Bureau of Justice for documentation within fifteen (15) days from the date of the change.

Article 12 A business office shall be encouraged to conduct arbitration-related international exchanges and cooperation, and the following exchanges and cooperation between the business office and arbitration institutions established in Beijing Municipality shall be supported:

(1) reaching and signing cooperation agreements;

(2) recommending arbitrators and mediators to each other;

(3) providing internship and exchange posts to each other;

(4) providing convenience or relevant assistance to each other's arbitration activities such as trials and hearings;

(5) jointly organizing training sessions, conferences, seminars and promotional activities; and

(6) other arbitration-related exchanges and cooperation.

Article 13 A business office shall make public its articles of association, arbitration rules and other important information on its official website or the public legal service website of Beijing Municipality, and shall publish an annual work report for the previous year before March 31 of each year. An annual work report shall include:

(1) overview of arbitration activities it carried out;

(2) any circumstances under which the arbitral awards are set aside or not enforced, or not recognized and enforced by a court;

(3) financial audit reports;

(4) changes in the list of the arbitrators/experts or recommended arbitrators/experts; and

(5) other information that is required to be published.

Article 14 Where a foreign arbitration institution that establishes a business office decides to terminate its operation or decides to close down its business office, it shall submit an application for deregistration to the Municipal Bureau of Justice.

Article 15 The Municipal Bureau of Justice shall deregister a business office and report to the Ministry of Justice for documentation if any of the following events occur to the business office:

(1) the foreign arbitration institution that establishes the business office terminates its operation;

(2) the foreign arbitration institution applies for the termination of the business office;

(3) the establishment registration of the business office is revoked in accordance with the law; or

(4) other circumstances as stipulated by laws, regulations and rules.

A business office that is to be deregistered in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall undergo liquidation before deregistration.

Article 16 A business office under any of the following circumstances shall not be deregistered:

(1) it still has pending arbitration cases;

(2) it still has outstanding tax payable;

(3) it is suspected of being involved in a corporate crime, with facts not being ascertained; or

(4) other circumstances as stipulated by laws, regulations or rules under which it is inappropriate to apply for termination.

Article 17 The Municipal Bureau of Justice shall publish the information regarding the registration, alteration and deregistration of a business office via its official website, the municipal public legal service website or other proper channels.

Article 18 Where a foreign arbitration institution obtains the approval for registration of a business office by means of fraud, the Municipal Bureau of Justice shall revoke its registration and report the matter to the Ministry of Justice for documentation.

Article 19 Where a business office, and its head and other staff violate the provisions of the laws, regulations and rules of the People's Republic of China, and the ones hereof in the process of conducting foreign-related arbitration activities, the Municipal Bureau of Justice shall handle the violation in accordance with the law or transfer the case to the relevant authority for handling.

Article 20 The Administrative Measures shall be referred to in the establishment of business offices by foreign arbitration institutions in Daxing Airport Area (Beijing section) of China (Hebei) Pilot Free Trade Zone[1] .

Article 21 The Administrative Measures shall come into force on January 1, 2021.