The First China International Import Expo Legal Forum “Import Promotion and Legal Protection” was held at SUIBE Gubei campus on November 6. The Forum was hosted the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), sponsored by CCPIT Legal Affairs Department and SUIBE, and organized by the Shanghai Law Society, the Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai (CPIT Shanghai), CCPIT Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Service Center, Renmin University of China, China University of Political Science and Law, Northwest China University of Political Science and Law, WTO Law Research Society, China Society of Arbitration Law, and Jun He Law Offices. Present at the event were some 70 leading experts and scholars from the International Taxation Department of the State Administration of Tax, CCPIT Legal Affairs Department, CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office, Hogan Lovells International LLP, Jun He Law Offices Shanghai, Shanghai Shendi (Group) Co. Ltd., SmithStreet Solutions, China University of Political Science and Law, and Fudan University, and over 200 university teachers and students from China and other countries.
The Forum focuses on legal issues surrounding international import expos, particularly tax cooperation in international trade, law and compliance, intellectual property, and dispute settlement mechanism. As the only high-end legal symposium of the First China International Import Expo, the event is characterized by a wide spectrum of senior participants and a broad range of emerging issues. SUIBE Vice President Chen Jie presided over the opening ceremony, SUIBE President Zhu Guohong, President of Shanghai Law Society Cui Yadong, and CCPIT Vice Chairman Lu Peng gave welcoming remarks, all emphasizing the significance of the forum against the backdrop of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative and the International Import Expo. Mr. Zhou Hanmin, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Mr. Scott Williams, Chairman and Co-founder of the InvestUSA Committee (IUSAC), delivered key-note speeches at the forum. CCPIT Legal Affairs Department and SUIBE signed a cooperation framework agreement, joining forces to conduct research into the law of specific countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, train professionals in foreign economic and trade relations, and deal with foreign-related cases.
The Forum fell into two sessions. Ms. Meng Yu Ying, Vice Director of the International Taxation Department of the State Administration of Tax, Mr. Qu Yichuan, Director of Shanghai Shendi (Group) Co. Ltd., Mr. Tang Weiyang, from Jun He Law Offices Shanghai, and Mr. Andrew McGinty, from Hogan Lovells International LLP, made speeches at the first session “Import Promotion and Legal Protection”, which was moderated by Mr. Ma Hao, former Chairman of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property and current President of CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office. Mr. Robin Kerawala, from SmithStreet Solutions, Ms. Zhu Shudi, from Fudan University, and Ms. Yin Min, from SUIBE, made comments on the speeches. Mr. Ni Shoubing, Dean of SUIBE School of Law, moderated the second session “Import Promotion and Dispute Settlement”. Mr. Mark Koulen, advisor at the WTO Economic Research and Statistics Division, Mr. Zhang Zheng-an, from Shanghai Co-Effort Law Firm LLP, Mr. Chen Rudang, from the School of International Law of China University of Political Science and Law, and Ms. Xu Shangshang, from Shanghai Hiways Law Firm, made speeches at the second session, while Mr. Chen Jian, Deputy Secretary General of China Society of Arbitration Law, Mr. Li Xinli, from Shanghai Landing Law Firm, and Mr. Wang Cheng, from SUIBE, commented on the speeches.
In his closing address, Mr. Liu Chao, Vice Director of CCPIT Legal Affairs Department, noted that opportunities should be seized to strengthen China’s legal services in international import. Mr. Liu also expressed his wish to expand CCPIT-SUIBE cooperation and thanked SUIBE for holding this successful event.