The Secretary-General of ICDPASO was invited to attend the Conference on Legal Risks and Countermeasures of International Investment and Trade in Hunan

Hunan, July 12, 2025 - Conference on Legal Risks and Countermeasures of International Investment and Trade was held at Xiangtan University in Hunan Province. Mr. Jason CHIA, Secretary-General of the International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization (ICDPASO), was invited to attend and deliver a speech, joining representatives from the legal, academic, and practical sectors in China and Africa to explore pathways for legal risk prevention and dispute resolution amid the global economic and trade landscape. 

The opening ceremony of the Conference was chaired by Ms. PAN Xinyan, Deputy Director of the China Legal Exchange Center. Judge Mr. YANG Wanming, Vice President of the China Law Society and former Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of China‌, emphasized in his speech that strengthening international judicial cooperation is a crucial pillar for addressing global economic and trade challenges, necessitating the use of legal tools to provide stable expectations for cross-border investments. Mr. Musakwa Joseph, Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, stated that the judicial sectors in China and Africa should deepen practical cooperation to jointly improve commercial dispute resolution mechanisms. Professor LIAO Yong'an, President of Xiangtan University and Dean of the China-Africa Institute, proposed leveraging academic research as a bridge to promote joint training and knowledge-sharing of legal professionals between China and Africa. 

Secretary-General Mr. Jason CHIA pointed out that ICDPASO has always been committed to establishing forward-looking dispute prevention mechanisms and promoting the coordinated development of diversified dispute resolution methods during his address. He called on countries to enhance alignment of economic and trade legal rules, injecting certainty into China-Africa economic, trade, and investment activities through full-chain services encompassing "prevention-mediation-arbitration".

During the keynote report session, experts from China and abroad engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the digital economy, cross-border investment, and dispute resolution: Mr. ZHANG Mingqi, Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of the China Law Society, analyzed the legal pathways for labor rights protection in the platform economy under the title “Challenges and Responses of New Forms of Employment in the Digital Age to Corporate Employment Management”; Mr. Abdelraouf Abdelhalim Abdelraouf Abouzei, Chief Prosecutor of the Egyptian Public Prosecution, focused on “Reflections on Disputes, Contract Management, and Dispute Resolution in Construction Projects”, sharing experiences in dispute resolution in Africa's infrastructure sector; Professor SHEN Sibao, Professor of the Law School of the University of International Business and Economics, proposed the establishment of a "one-stop" legal service system, advocating for lawyers to play a proactive role before disputes arise to provide comprehensive legal support for China-Africa cross-border trade and investment; Mr. WANG Chengjie, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, emphasized that enhancing the credibility of arbitration is key to optimizing the business environment and fostering healthy China-Africa economic and trade development. 

This Conference provided an international platform for high-level exchanges on economic, trade, and investment risk control between China and Africa, contributing wisdom and consensus to preventing and resolving legal risks in investment and trade and deepening legal cooperation between the two sides. ICDPASO will continue to leverage the advantages of its multilateral mechanisms as an international organization to promote rule coordination and practical innovation in the field of international commercial dispute prevention and resolution. Experts attending the Conference delivered speeches and engaged in discussions on multiple topics. 

The graduation ceremony of the 12th course of China-Africa Legal Professionals Exchange Program was also held concurrently. Mr. Daniel Jean Alain Dangeot, Principal State Counsel at the Attorney General’s Office of Mauritius, spoke on behalf of the trainees, expressing gratitude for the systematic training provided by China to African legal professionals and stating that he would apply the knowledge gained to China-Africa commercial cooperation practices. Leaders attending the event presented graduation certificates to trainees from multiple African countries, marking another fruitful achievement in China-Africa legal cooperation.