"Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" is an important institutional arrangement to fully leverage the function of arbitration and serve high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Through practical measures such as strengthening publicity and promotion, business guidance, and mechanism docking, Guangdong Province actively promoted the implementation and effectiveness of policies such as "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated", effectively enhancing the investment confidence of Hong Kong (and Macao) funded, and continuously helping to create a rule-of-law-based, internationalized, first-class business environment. Recently, the Dongguan Arbitration Commission concluded the first " Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" case handled by a mainland arbitration institution in accordance with laws, regulations, and relevant policies. The amount in dispute in this case exceeded10 million yuan, involving a loan dispute in commercial cooperation. One of the parties was a Hong Kong-funded enterprise established in Dongguan City, and both parties explicitly agreed to Hong Kong as the place of arbitration. This is a key measure guided by the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province for arbitration institutions in the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong- Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to implement the "Opinions on Fully Leveraging the Function of Arbitration to Serve the High-Quality Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice. It marks substantial progress in the rule connection and docking system for cross-border arbitration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and fully reflects the professional capabilities and institutional characteristics of the Dongguan Arbitration Commission in connecting Hong Kong and Macao, the Bay Area, innovating development, and taking a pragmatic approach. Maximizing respect for the autonomy of the parties' will "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" an important institutional arrangement to fully leverage the function of arbitration and serve the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In February 2025, the "Opinions" issued by the Supreme People's Court the Ministry of Justice clarified that Hong Kong-funded and Macao-funded enterprises established in the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can agree designate either the mainland or Hong Kong and Macao as the place of arbitration to resolve commercial disputes. This arrangement maximizes respect for the parties' autonomy of will and significantly enhances the and credibility of cross-border dispute resolution. In July of the same year, the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice issued the "Implementation on Fully Leveraging the Functions of Arbitration to Serve the High-Quality Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Opinions refining implementation measures based on Guangdong's actual conditions to promote the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Commercial Arbitration Center. A relevant official from Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice stated that by strengthening publicity and promotion, business guidance, and mechanism docking through pragmatic measures, Guangdong has actively promoted the implementation and effectiveness of policies such asHong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated," effectively enhancing the investment confidence of Hong Kong and Macao-funded enterprises, and continuously helping to create a rule-of--based, internationalized, first-class business environment. According to the "Implementation Opinions," the Dongguan Arbitration Commission continuously pays attention to the actual needs of relevant commercial entities in operations and the realization of expected rights, and timely carries out policy publicity and practical interpretations. It is reported that in the "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated case handled by the Dongguan Arbitration Commission this time, one party was a Hong Kong-funded enterprise established in Dongguan, one of the nine mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong-Macao Greater Bay Area and a city that has long ranked fifth in foreign trade nationwide, and the other party was a wholly foreign-owned enterprise registered in Dezhou,. The two parties had a dispute over commercial cooperation and submitted it to the Dongguan Arbitration Commission for arbitration in accordance with the contract. After accepting the case, the staff of theguan Arbitration Commission keenly noticed that the two parties could still communicate rationally and had not agreed on the place of arbitration. In accordance with the specific requirements of the "Implementation Opinions," they the parties that their case met the provisions of the "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" policy and explained the legal significance of the place of arbitration. Based the comprehensive information obtained and after fully assessing the needs of the case, the two parties independently reached a supplementary arbitration agreement, further clarifying that the Dongguan Arbitration Commission would manage the proceedings in accordance with the "Arbitration Rules of the Dongguan Arbitration Commission," and agreeing on multiple terms conducive to more conveniently advancing the arbitration proceedings, such as designating Hong Kong as place of arbitration. This case is the first "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" case directly accepted and managed throughout the process by a mainland arbitration institution.The "effect" of multiple innovative measures is superimposed Achieving breakthroughs in multiple dimensions and ensuring the high-quality and efficient handling of the case through multiple innovative measures are the highlights the process of handling the first "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" case by a mainland arbitration institution. It is understood that the Dongguan Arbitration Commission to directly use the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Arbitrator Roster," arranged arbitrators familiar with the Hong Kong legal system, and appointed senior handlers from the Dongguan Arbitration Commission to serve as secretaries to the arbitration tribunal to assist in managing and advancing the arbitration proceedings.

Specifically, in accordance with the parties' agreement and to better ensure the quality of case handling, to meet the parties' requirement of designating Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration, and pursuant to the "Announcement of the Dongguan Arbitration Commission on the Use Arrangements of the 'Gudong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Arbitrators' Roster", the Dongguan Arbitration Commission appointed a senior legal professional as the sole arbitrator for the case. Although not in the "Dongguan Arbitration Commission Arbitrators' Roster", this individual is an arbitrator on the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Arbitrators'oster". Coming from the parties' agreed seat of arbitration, Hong Kong, the arbitrator is familiar with Hong Kong's arbitration legal system and procedural rules, possesses extensive practical experience, the dual status of a Special Administrative Region solicitor and a mainland practicing lawyer, and has a profound understanding of the culture, law, and business logic of both the mainland and Hong Kong as well as the integrated development trend of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. At the same time, in accordance with the "Dongguan Arbitration Commission Arbitration" and upon the parties' entrustment, the Dongguan Arbitration Commission appointed an experienced case officer as the tribunal secretary. This officer, who obtained a Master of Laws degree from renowned university in the UK and is familiar with the procedural requirements of common law, was assigned to better ensure that the case handling procedures fully comply with the legal requirements of the Hong Kong of arbitration. The aforementioned measures provided more comprehensive guarantees and more thoughtful arrangements for the appointment of the arbitrator and the tribunal secretary in the first "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong- arbitration" case, ensuring that higher-quality case services could be provided to the parties. It is worth noting that the Dongguan Arbitration Commission also carried out close cooperation with a Kong arbitration institution on a specific case for the first time, applying an online dispute resolution platform to ensure a seamless online and offline connection between the mainland and Hong Kong for the case. According to the "Memorandum of Understanding" signed between the Dongguan Arbitration Commission and the Hong Kong Yi Bang International Online Arbitration and Mediation Center (hereinafter referred to as the Bang Center), with the parties' consent and the support of the Yi Bang Center, the parties involved in the case smoothly advanced the online hearing procedures through the Yi Bang online dispute resolution. The arbitrator participated in the hearing from the Yi Bang Center's arbitration room in Central, Hong Kong; the arbitration secretary participated from the Dongguan Arbitration Commission's arbitration room and the parties and their representatives participated synchronously from their respective offices in Dongguan and Shandong. In the handling of this "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-seated arbitration" case, a digitalized hearing arrangement was realized for the first time, featuring simultaneous participation from four locations in the mainland and Hong Kong and compatibility between online and offline modes. This efficiently completed arbitration procedures, minimized the costs for all parties participating in the arbitration, fully implemented the concepts of "green arbitration" and "smart arbitration", and received affirmation from the arbitrator and both. "From the initial acceptance of the case, the clear autonomous choice of the seat of arbitration by the parties, the formation of the arbitration tribunal, to the rendering of the award, the entire process strictly followed the relevant institutional design requirements for 'Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-seated arbitration', comprehensively applied various arbitration policies of the Guangdong-Hong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and aimed to maximize the improvement of arbitration services and experience," said Pan Changhe, Director of the Dongguan Arbitration Commission. The cumulative "" of multiple innovative measures achieved the results of ensuring quality, optimizing services, improving efficiency, facilitating all parties, and accumulating experience. It precisely addressed the pain points and difficulties of rule, mechanism docking, and talent connection, and further amplified the regional advantages and institutional innovation policy dividends of arbitration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Actively Promoting Innovative Practices in Cross-border Arbitration The successful conclusion of the first "Hong Kong-funded Hong Kong-arbitrated" case by a mainland arbitration institution is a successful example of a diversified dispute resolution mechanism based on joint consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits. It a vivid practice of the latest achievements in legal cooperation between Dongguan and Hong Kong, fully demonstrating the flexibility, targeted nature, and effectiveness of arbitration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-ao Greater Bay Area (GBA). It accurately interprets the development trend of rule alignment, mechanism docking, and talent connection in the GBA, providing a replicable and promotable model for arbitration institutions to implement the "Hong Kong-funded, Hong Kong-arbitrated" policy. This is not the first time the Dongguan Arbitration Commission has provided "Dong experience" for cross-border arbitration. In recent years, the Dongguan Arbitration Commission has actively aligned with the needs of legal integration in the GBA and actively promoted innovative practices in-border arbitration. Establishing a "green channel" mechanism for lawyers from the GBA and lawyers from joint-venture law firms to be appointed as arbitrators, and successfully concluding first arbitration case in the country represented by GBA lawyers, thereby supporting rule alignment and mechanism docking with pragmatic measures; Actively exploring the alignment of arbitration and mediation mechanisms involving Hong and Macao, creating the "Wanxianghua" (Dongguan Fragrant Flower) arbitration and mediation characteristic brand of the Dongguan Arbitration Commission, and successfully mediating a large number arbitration cases involving Hong Kong and Macao, achieving good results; Setting up a dedicated case filing window and case handling area for arbitration cases from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and foreign countries, continuously improving the service capacity for cross-border arbitration cases. Since its launch in 2021, it has handled cases involving Hong Kong and Macao a cumulative claim amount of nearly 7 billion yuan, gaining high recognition from all parties; Leveraging the advantages of "Arbitration ", actively building a cross-border legal network in the GBA, and establishing normalized collaboration mechanisms with relevant departments, organizations, and institutions such as the Legal Department of the Central People's Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong the Legal Department of the Central People's Government Liaison Office in Macao, China Legal Service (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., China Legal Service (Macao) Co.,., the Hong Kong Association of Chinese Lawyers, the Hong Kong Arbitrators Association, the International Public Interest Legal Service Association, the Hong Kong Yibang International Arbitration and Mediation Center, the Macao Legal Exchange Association, to promote the alignment of arbitration work and resource integration in the GBA; Respecting the party autonomy of the parties involved, and encouraging the resolution of cross-border commercial disputes in the GBA through methods such as remote video online hearings; Attaching great importance to the development of young legal talents in the GBA having received over 300 visits and exchanges from young legal professionals and arranged internships for GBA university students over the past five years; ... Pan Changhe stated the Dongguan Arbitration Commission will take the successful conclusion of this case as an opportunity to continuously optimize its cross-border arbitration service system, further enhance its ability to serve Hong Kong- and Macao-funded enterprises as well as other types of commercial entities, and contribute more "Dongguan experience" to the high-quality development of the GBA. (Outlook New Era)