On 18 October 2025, Mr. Yao Hongmin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai International Arbitration Center, and Mr. Li Tingwei, Senior Officer of the Research Department, paid a visit to the World Trade Center Macau Arbitration Center (hereinafter referred to as “the Center”). The visit follows the Cooperation Agreement signed in 2024 between the Center and the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center), and marks a continuation of efforts to translate strategic consensus into concrete collaboration.

During the meeting, both institutions engaged in in-depth discussions on a range of topics, including institutional development of arbitral bodies, policy trends in foreign-related arbitration, innovations introduced by the newly amended Arbitration Law in Mainland China, cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries in legal services, talent development, and advancing internationalisation. The two sides also explored practical avenues for expanding cooperation and strengthening institutional synergies under the current legal framework.

Ms. Li Yingxin, Director of the Office of the Center, remarked that since its establishment, the Center has been committed to promoting the professionalisation and institutionalisation of arbitration and mediation services in both Macao and the wider region. The Center actively contributes to the development of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while also leveraging Macao’s role as a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries to steadily advance legal service partnerships with Lusophone jurisdictions.

Mr. Yao Hongmin provided an overview of the Shanghai International Arbitration Center’s institutional evolution and operational framework. He noted that with the Chinese government’s continued emphasis on institutional development, regional coordination, and organisational growth in the arbitration sector, arbitration is playing an increasingly pivotal role in the multi-tiered dispute resolution system. He further highlighted that the newly revised Arbitration Law explicitly supports a two-way dynamic of “going global” for Chinese arbitral institutions and “bringing in” overseas organisations, with inter-institutional cooperation set to become a critical component of the sector’s future development.

The WTC Macau Arbitration Center looks forward to deepening its collaboration with the Shanghai International Arbitration Center, and to jointly promoting the development and integration of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in Lusophone markets and the broader international arena.