On December 16, the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) Beijing Office was held at the Beijing World Hotel. This is the first overseas arbitration institution that has established a representative office in Beijing. 

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre is a world-renowned, Asia-Pacific-leading arbitration institution. The successful establishment of its Beijing Office in the Beijing CBD area is an important milestone in its development journey and also demonstrates Beijing’s openness and inclusiveness in its pursuit of international arbitration practices.

To build an international commercial arbitration center, Beijing has strengthened institutional and policy guarantees and vigorously supported the opening-up of arbitration by issuing documents such as the Measures on Reforming and Optimizing the Development Environment of the Legal Service Industry in Beijing and the Measures for the Registration and Administration of Business Institutions Established by Overseas Arbitration Institutions in the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, improving a series of policies related to work, residence and exit and entry. The Opinions of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice on Strengthening Guidance and Supervision of Arbitration Work was issued to ensure that arbitration institutions can carry out their work independently in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, Beijing has accelerated the local legislation of the Regulations on the Construction of the Beijing International Commercial Arbitration Center and actively supported the innovation of the arbitration legal system. Driven by a series of favorable policies, the Beijing Representative Office of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center completed its registration and was officially unveiled, becoming the first office of an overseas arbitration institution in Beijing.

In the future, the Beijing Office of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre will leverage the supportive policies for developing Beijing's "two zones" and actively integrate into the legal service cluster in Chaoyang District, becoming a new platform for leveraging Hong Kong's arbitration system advantages under the policy of One Country, Two Systems framework and strengthening exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland of China in legal and arbitration sectors. The office will also actively contribute to the development of the Beijing international commercial arbitration center.

(Source: Beijing Daily)