Foreign mediators are expected to participate in dispute resolution in Beijing courts to improve the judiciary's capacity to handle foreign-related affairs, a senior judge from China's top court said.
"We encourage the participation because foreign mediators are more familiar with laws, customs and trading habits in areas where they're from, which will help courts across the city better solve foreign-related commercial cases," said Wang Shumei, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's No 4 Civil Division.
Wang said courts nationwide have seen the number of foreign--related cases grow rapidly, adding that Chinese courts heard 22,330 such disputes last year, up 3% year-on-year.