Beijing opens up to foreign arbitration

The State Council of China published a policy paper on opening up the services sector in Beijing announcing that foreign arbitral institutions will be allowed to set up ‘business organisations in designated area(s) in Beijing’. The aim of these business organisations is to provide arbitration services in relation to civil and commercial disputes in international commerce and investments, as well as application and enforcement of measures related to arbitration proceedings. As stated by Herbert Smith Freehills, the policy paper ‘signals further liberalisation and opening up of commercial arbitration practice in Mainland China’.