On October 24, 2025, the 5th China-Singapore International Commercial Dispute Resolution Conference (Conference) was successfully held in Singapore. The Conference was co-hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Ministry of Law of Singapore, and the International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization (ICDPASO). Mr. Ren Hongbin, Chairman of CCPIT, and Mr. Edwin Tong Chun Fai, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore, attended the opening ceremony and delivered opening addresses, stressing that the friendship between China and Singapore has deepened over the past 35 years since the establishment of their diplomatic relations. They noted that China’s commitment to high-quality development and high-standard opening-up is creating new opportunities for the world. As a concrete step to advance the comprehensive, high-quality, and forward-looking partnership between the two countries, the Conference also serves as a pragmatic initiative to make steady progress for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. They also called for deeper cooperation, empowerment by digital intelligence, and governance based on rule of law.

(Chairman Ren Hongbin addressed the opening ceremony)

During the Conference, CCPIT and Singapore’s Ministry of Law signed the Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Promoting the Prevention and Resolution of International Commercial Dispute. CMAC, CIETAC, CCPIT Mediation Center, ICDPASO, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC), the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) and the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA), jointly signed the Response Document to the Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Promoting the Prevention and Resolution of the International Commercial Dispute Resolution.

(Secretary-General Li Hu attended the Signing Ceremony on behalf of CMAC)

Dr. Li Hu, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of CMAC, participated as a panelist in the topical discussion of “Enhancing Efficiency Through Procedural Innovation in Dispute Resolution”. He made in-depth exchanges with Chinese and Singaporean experts on hot topics such as the innovation of arbitration efficiency, the balance between efficiency and fairness, mutual learning and exchanges between Chinese and Singaporean institutions, as well as the development trends of international disputes.

The Conference gathered distinguish guests to discuss on hot topics such as Enhancing Efficiency Through Procedural Innovation in Dispute Resolution, disputes arising from the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in dispute resolution proceedings, and ethics in dispute resolution. The Conference attracted over 500 attendees from the government, the legal and business sectors, and the academia from both jurisdictions.