At present, over 68 countries and regions have endorsed China’s Belt and Road initiative which aims to strengthen trading ties among regions along the original silk road route. As part of the initiative, various dispute resolution proposals are being put forward. Within Mainland China, the Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) has entering into ‘institutional coalitions‘ with the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA). In addition, the BAC in collaboration with the Nairobi International Arbitration Centre has established a China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre (CAJAC) in March of 2017.
Within Hong Kong, the International Academy of the Belt and Road released a Blue Book on the Dispute Resolution Mechanism for the Belt and Road which advocates mediation followed by arbitration. Hong Kong arbitration institutions have addressed commercial disputes between trading partners along the Belt and Road and as addressed in a recent talk by the HK Secretary for Justice, stand to contribute to future cooperation in this area.