Beijing has approved the convention establishing the world鈥檚 first intergovernmental organisation on mediation in Hong Kong, while indicating it would not bring forth World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes to the new body.
Observers said on Friday the move was an indication of Beijing鈥檚 support for the WTO and that it would still bring other disputes to the new organisation.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency said the Standing Committee of the National People鈥檚 Congress had approved the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation, which was signed in Hong Kong at the end of May.
At the same time, the country鈥檚 legislature declared that under Articles 25 and 29 of the convention, the government would not submit its disputes under the WTO to the new body.
The articles state that the new body shall not provide mediation services to jurisdictions that have made a declaration indicating disputes they would refuse to submit to the body, such as those concerning territorial sovereignty or maritime interests.
Lau Siu-kai of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank said Beijing had always underscored the centrality of the WTO in promoting international trade and resolving disputes that arose from it.
鈥淏y not bringing trade disputes to the International Organisation for Mediation, Beijing shows its respect for the WTO and support for the current international order,鈥 he said.
Lawmaker and barrister Priscilla Leung Mei-fun echoed the sentiment, saying: 鈥淐hina would like to protect the WTO. It actually wants to serve as a very strong supporting power.鈥
She said Beijing was likely referring to disputes that were already being handled by the WTO and that it would still bring other types of disputes to the new body.
Hong Kong鈥檚 mediation body was meant to be 鈥渃omplimentary鈥 to existing international organisations, rather than 鈥渕utually exclusive鈥, she added.
鈥淚f they already brought the case to the WTO, they would not bring it to [the new body],鈥 she said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu previously said establishing the organisation was increasingly vital given the 鈥渕ounting geopolitical tensions鈥 and protectionism that threatened to derail the international trade order.
The WTO鈥檚 dispute settlement system has been effectively paralysed since 2019, following the collapse of its Appellate Body, which has the final say on disputes.
United States President Donald Trump during his first administration and his successor Joe Biden blocked the appointment of new judges to the Appellate Body over what they saw as judicial overreach in disputes.
The body is unable to function with fewer than three judges.
Both Beijing and Hong Kong have lodged complaints with the WTO over the Trump administration鈥檚 so-called reciprocal tariffs, with the city鈥檚 government saying the move ignored the city鈥檚 status as a separate customs entity from mainland China.
The Post has approached the government for comment on whether it would also decline to bring WTO disputes to the city鈥檚 mediation body.
The new organisation has been hailed as a way to bolster Hong Kong鈥檚 status as a dispute resolution hub, enabling the city to handle disagreements between states, as well as those between investors and governments, amid increasingly fraught geopolitical tensions.
Most of the 33 signatories to the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation are African countries, such as Algeria, Ethiopia and Cameroon.
Other signatories include five countries, such as Pakistan, Laos and Indonesia, from Asia, five from Latin America and the Caribbean, five from Oceania and two from Europe.