Judicial system building trust with international trade enterprises

Judges in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are dedicated to improving the quality of handling international trade cases and providing enhanced legal services to market participants, and have made significant progress in their rulings over the past year.

Since its inception on March 20, 2025, the Tribunal of China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone Urumqi Area had handled 3,371 free trade cases as of March 18 of this year, including 43 involving international matters, as reported by the Xinshi District People's Court in Urumqi.

The foreign-related cases mainly involved issues concerning sales contracts of foreign goods, divorces and private lending, with litigants coming from 15 countries and regions worldwide, of which individuals from Central Asian nations comprised 33 percent of the total, according to the report.

Zhang Jun, vice-president of the court, highlighted the report's findings that the rate at which foreign parties actively choose China's jurisdiction has doubled. "This reflects the growing recognition and trust of both domestic and international market entities in the credibility of our country's judicial system," Zhang stated.

To foster international trade, the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, covering areas in Urumqi, Horgos and Kashgar, was launched in November 2023. This initiative supports the development of a "golden corridor" between Asia and Europe. In response to the increase in foreign-related civil and commercial cases due to rising business activities, Xinjiang has established three specialized tribunals in these areas.

Zhang emphasized that the Urumqi tribunal consistently adheres to the principle of providing equal protection and efficient legal services to all litigants during cases, regardless of their origin.

"The tribunal has effectively enhanced its international judicial credibility by publicizing concluded landmark cases, including those involving foreign commercial contracts, intellectual property, and matters closely tied to the high-level domestic economy," she said.

With a commitment to fairness, the tribunal has also bolstered the role of expert think tanks in mediation and promoted online legal services, striving to resolve various free trade disputes more efficiently, she added.

For example, since its establishment, the tribunal has facilitated online case filing, video trials, electronic document delivery and other litigation services over 700 times. It has also provided statements of claims in Chinese, English and Russian for litigants involved in four types of high-frequency disputes: sales contracts, financial loan contracts, trademark infringement and divorces, the report noted.

Wang Zhidong, another vice-president of the court, commented on the rise in disputes related to foreign contracts, intellectual property and internal corporate conflicts due to increased cross-border trade and investment cooperation.

"Many enterprises face challenges such as unfamiliarity with regulations, inadequate risk assessment and improper evidence preservation in their internal management and external operations, which can lead to disputes," Wang explained. "In response, the tribunal has published notable cases to translate the adjudication rules and risk points developed in judicial practice into clearer and more understandable guidelines, helping businesses effectively comprehend and apply these insights."

To better serve domestic and international market entities, the report shows that the tribunal will expedite the development of an international commercial law expert database, making every effort to enhance the professionalism and judicial capabilities in the handling of cases.

Additionally, the tribunal plans to organize quarterly face-to-face meetings between judges and enterprises to better understand their legal needs, uphold the principle of equal protection and ensure more precise service delivery, the report concluded. (source: China daily)