Shenzhen and Silicon Valley Deepen Cooperation in International Arbitration in Two Bay Areas

Dr. Liu Xiaochun, President of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA), and Gary Benton, Chairman of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC), made strides in international arbitration collaboration with the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in San Francisco on March 13, 2024.

Under the MOU, SCIA and SVAMC solidified their commitment to fostering a robust “Bay to Bay” international arbitration partnership between China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the San Francisco Bay Area. These two prominent regions, renowned as global hubs for high-tech enterprises, will leverage joint promotion efforts, collaborative training initiatives, and reciprocal provision of hearing services to empower businesses in effectively mitigating and resolving cross-border commercial disputes.

“There are strong ties between the U.S. and China, and there always will be, because of our economic strength in the world; it is important that the U.S. and China maintain those strong ties, and we know that we will. International trade is the way to do it, and international arbitration is a very important part to that international trade.  I am hopeful that international arbitration will continue to grow, and the relations between the U.S. and China will only improve going forward, and that would be a great opportunity for all of us,” Gary Benton spoke on the occasion.