The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Public Solicitor’s Office, the Law Reform Commission, the Registrar General’s Office, and the Legal Policy Unit recently attended two weeks (3 – 16 June) Seminar on the Rule of Law in Free Trade Port for Developing Countries, in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China.
The seminar was attended by 37 officials from nine developing countries: South Sudan, Moldova, Jordan, Nepal, Maldives, Nigeria, Egypt, Mongolia, and Solomon Islands.
The seminar was facilitated by Chinese experts on relevant topics of which some are on China’s profile, Path of Good Laws and Good Governance with Chinese Characteristics, Tax System of the Hainan Free Trade Port, and Hainan Free Trade Port Law and Legislative Model Change.
The seminar offers the opportunity for participants to learn and acquire knowledge from the Chinese system on free trade, in particular the Hainan Free Trade Port.
Field visits and stakeholder dialogues were complementary to the lectures with the aim of seeing what were learnt in theory in the classroom and how they are happening in practice. Among the sites visited in Hainan province are the One stop Corporate Legal Service Centre of Haikou Industrial Development Investment Group, the Boao Forum for Asia, and the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City. At the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City – discussion was on “How A Sound Legal Environment Helps the Development of High-tech Industries and the Construction of an Innovation Ecosystem” where Hainan encourages foreign investment and innovations through government subsidies for exceptional inventors and innovations.
Further visit was taken to the mega city of Shanghai where participants were privileged to attend a session on the Shanghai Trade Commercial Mediation Center (SCMC) on “How to Improve the International Commercial Dispute Mediation Mechanism of Shanghai”, the Shanghai Pudong Development and Opening up Pavilion and discussions with staff members of the Weipai Law Firm on “Master Plan for the Hainan Free Trade Port and Preparation for Independent Customs Operations.
The Commercial Mediation Center plays an important role in ensuring disputes among corporations are resolved confidentiality in good time. This dispute settlement mechanism compliments the commercial arbitration and litigation of which parties can also utilize.
The seminar and the field visits to the different entities provided the opportunity for participants to get to know the status quo of China’s development trajectory. This also offers an opportunity for participants to re-think of their countries economic development, investment environment, trade policies and envisage potential areas for future cooperation.
The seminar is very relevant to Solomon Islands because recently the National Parliament has enacted the Special Economic Zones Act. The Act provides a framework to establish special economic zones with attractive incentives aimed at attracting foreign investment and job creation opportunities in order to enhance the resilience of the country’s economy. Knowledge acquired by participants from the seminar can be shared with relevant government bodies in the country on the matter.
The seminar ended on a high note with participants gaining insightful perspectives of China’s legal reforms, economic trade policies and institutional development. Participants not only shared with the host, but also shared with each other their respective professional experiences which is crucial to innovation and growth. Seminars like these are strategic in providing platforms to deepen the cooperation between China and other nations through knowledge sharing and promoting the exchange of governance experiences.
The Solomon Islands Government officials who attended the seminar sincerely express their gratitude to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, through the International Cooperation and Exchange Centre of Department of Commerce of Hainan Province for sponsoring and organizing the seminar.
