On September 12, 2025, the 17th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress voted to pass the newly revised Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China, which will come into effect on March 1, 2026. On the morning of September 29th, the Ministry of Justice held a press conference to introduce the relevant information of the newly revised Arbitration Law. Arbitration is a dispute resolution system stipulated by Chinese law and an internationally recognized method of dispute resolution. Shi Hong, Director of the Civil Law Office of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, stated that the foreign-related legal system is an important component of China's rule of law and the foundation of foreign-related rule of law, and the arbitration system is an important component of China's foreign-related legal system. This revision of the Arbitration Law has made further modifications and improvements to the foreign-related arbitration system. The newly revised Arbitration Law clearly stipulates that foreign-related economic and trade, transportation, maritime disputes, and other foreign-related disputes can be arbitrated. Compared with the 1994 Arbitration Law, the scope of foreign-related arbitration cases has been greatly expanded. The newly revised Arbitration Law has added a system of place of arbitration. According to the prevailing rules of international commercial arbitration, the place of arbitration is mainly used to determine the nationality of the arbitration award, thereby clarifying the applicable law of the arbitration procedure and the jurisdictional court. The newly revised Arbitration Law clearly stipulates that unless the parties agree otherwise on the applicable law of the arbitration procedure, the place of arbitration shall be the basis for determining the applicable law of the arbitration procedure, and the place of arbitration shall be the basis for determining the jurisdiction of the court. At the same time, this revision also made specific provisions on the rules for determining the place of arbitration, clearly stipulating that the parties may agree in writing on the place of arbitration. If the parties have not agreed on the place of arbitration or the agreement is unclear, the place of arbitration shall be determined according to the arbitration rules agreed upon by the parties. If the arbitration rules do not provide for it, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the place of arbitration based on the actual situation of the case and in accordance with the principle of facilitating dispute resolution. These regulations fully respect the autonomy of the parties in arbitration activities, while also taking into account the flexibility and standardization of the arbitration procedure. The rule of law goes hand in hand with reform and opening up, and as we move forward with opening up to the outside world, the construction of foreign-related rule of law must also follow suit. ”Shi Hong introduced that the newly revised Arbitration Law specifically stipulates in the General Provisions that the state supports arbitration institutions to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with overseas arbitration institutions and relevant international organizations, and actively participates in the formulation of international arbitration rules. It is reported that in the past five years, China's arbitration institutions have handled about 16000 foreign-related arbitration cases with a total amount of about 730 billion yuan. Arbitration awards have been recognized and enforced worldwide, and China has gradually become a preferred destination for international commercial arbitration worldwide. Shi Hong stated that in order to further deepen the opening up of the arbitration industry, create a market-oriented, rule of law, and international business environment, the newly revised Arbitration Law clearly supports Chinese arbitration institutions to establish business institutions overseas and carry out arbitration activities. At the same time, in accordance with the needs of economic and social development and the needs of reform and opening up, overseas arbitration institutions are allowed to establish business institutions in areas such as free trade pilot zones approved by the State Council and Hainan Free Trade Port, and carry out foreign-related arbitration activities in accordance with relevant national regulations. The newly revised Arbitration Law is in line with relevant provisions of China's Civil Procedure Law, providing specific provisions for the application for recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards made within the territory of China by foreign courts, as well as for the application for recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards made outside the territory of China by Chinese people's courts. This is not only in line with the Civil Procedure Law, but also further improves the judicial assistance system in the Arbitration Law, providing legal protection for promoting the circulation of arbitration awards between different jurisdictions. Shi Hong stated that this revision also includes provisions in the annex for arbitration institutions and tribunals to handle international investment arbitration cases. (New Society)