On 16 May 2017, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) launched the CIETAC Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Arbitration Centre. The opening ceremony was attended by Wang Chengjie, the CIETAC Secretary General and Vice Chairman, Jiao Xiaoping, Director of PPP of the Ministry of Finance, other leading officials, and arbitrators and experts from the PPP industry, construction and engineering supervision industries.
The stated purpose of the CIETAC PPP Arbitration Centre is to encourage arbitration for disputes arising out of public-private partnerships, including those which may arise from the One Belt One Road project. It is the first of its kind in China.
At the ceremony, Jiao Xiaoping noted that the creation of the PPP Arbitration Centre would help guarantee cooperation between the government and social capital, whilst protecting the interests of both investors and other citizens.
The new arbitration centre may also represent an expansion by CIETAC to PPP dispute resolution.
While it is too soon to assess the volume of such disputes, the establishment of the PPP Arbitration Centre may mark the beginning of a new era for dispute resolution in the context of Chinese public-private partnerships.
Key contacts
Simon Chapman KC
Managing Partner, Dispute Resolution and Global Co-Head – International Arbitration, Hong Kong
Andrew Cannon
Partner, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration and of Public International Law, London
Kathryn Sanger
Partner, Head of China and Japan, Dispute Resolution, Co-Head of Private Capital, Asia, Hong Kong
Christian Leathley
Partner, Co-Head of the Latin America Group, Co-Head of the Public International Law Group, US Head of International Arbitration, London
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