On October 23, the International Forum on Financial Justice, jointly organized by the Shanghai Financial Court (SFC) and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), was held in Shanghai. Experts and scholars from the financial, judicial, and academic sectors, both within China and abroad, includingthe United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Qatar, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on the theme of “Rule of Law Safeguards for the High-Level Financial Opening-up.” The forum facilitated mutual learning of exemplary practices among nations and contributed legal solutions to safeguarding the security and order of the global financial market.
The forum featured addresses by Hu Yunteng, President of the Case Study Society, China Law Society and former Minister-level Standing Member of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC); Jiang Ping, President of the Shanghai Law Society; Zhang Lei, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee; Liu Yuanchun, President of SUFE; and Lin Xiaonie, Vice President ofthe Shanghai High People’s Court. Zhao Hong, President of the SFC, presided over the opening ceremony and delivered the welcome speech.
Hu Yuntengremarkedthat the vitality of finance lies in its fluidity and innovation, while its security and order require legal regulation and judicial protection. In responding to new developments and challenges in cross-border finance, financial rule of law must balance adherence to fundamental principles with innovation. This involves maintaining the core direction of finance serving the real economy, accelerating the development of case-based rule of law to fill regulatory gaps in emerging financial sectors, and narrowing the adaptation gap between innovative financial practices and traditional legal frameworks. He advocated for an open and inclusive financial ecosystem, recognizing legal rules as the common language for global financial flows, and strengthening practical cooperation and regulatory convergence among different financial jurisdictions to facilitate a two-way translation between “national narratives” and “global vocabulary.” He emphasized a problem-oriented approach to foster positive interaction between theoretical research and judicial practice, thereby contributing China’s experience and viable solutions to the modernization and internationalization of financial adjudication.
Jiang Ping stated that the Shanghai Law Society remains committed to theoretical innovation and practical exploration in the field of financial rule of law. It actively addresses cutting-edge legal issues arising from the construction of Shanghai’s “Five Centers,” including the city’s role as an international financial center, aiming to empower and enhance national strategies. He suggested collaboration with peers in the financial legal sector to advance legal frameworks for fintech, strengthen legal research, promote legislation in key areas, and ensure both security and development in frontier fintech domains. By maintaining a practice-oriented approach and closely following law enforcement and judicial practices, the society aims to provide scholarly support for effectively balancing frontierfintech applications with risk prevention. It will also broaden its international perspective, focus on emerging legal issues, and intensify theoretical exchanges and legal research in fintech both domestically and internationally, thereby contributing legal wisdom and strength to the development of Shanghai as an international financial center.
Zhang Lei pointed out that in recent years, Shanghai has witnessed a continuous elevation in the level of its financial opening-up, a steady improvement in judicial effectiveness, and a consistent strengthening of theoretical research and intellectual support. With China’s 15thFive-Year Plan on the horizon, the financial rule of law must further play its unique role in consolidating foundations, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting long-term development, thereby establishing institutional roots and providing security safeguards for high-level financial opening-up. He expressed hope that the forum would serve as an opportunity to jointly deliberate rules with financial legal experts from various countries, enhance mutual understanding through in-depth dialogue, and forge global consensus on global financial rule of law; to deliberate on cooperation, strengthen international judicial and law enforcement assistance, and reinforce the practical foundation of the rule of law; to jointly prevent risks, deepen the construction of risk early-warning and prevention mechanisms, and fortify financial security barriers; and to share outcomes, stimulate the vitality of legal innovation, and ensure that innovative achievements serve global financial development.
Liu Yuanchun stated that as Shanghai accelerates the construction of an international financial center, high-level financial opening-up is in urgent need of solid legal safeguards. Historical experience shows that financial development and legal improvement are mutually reinforcing. Western countries have consolidated their positions in the global financial system by establishing sound financial legal frameworks. Currently, China’s financial opening-up faces new challenges in areas like data security, regulatory coordination, and investor protection that are brought by digital finance, cross-border transactions, and fintech, making strengthened international judicial cooperation imperative. Leveraging its strengths in integrating economics, management, and law, SUFE has deepened research on financial rule of law, undertaken multiple national-level research projects, and cultivated a large number of interdisciplinary talents. Through the joint establishment of a financial justice research base with the SFC, SUFE promotes the deep integration of theoretical research and judicial practice. SUFE is willing to take this forum as an opportunity to deepen cooperation with financial institutions, judicial departments, and international peers, jointly address legal challenges in financial opening-up, provide intellectual support for government decision-making, institutional compliance, and judicial adjudication, help Shanghai reach new heights in building an international financial center, and contribute wisdom and strength to the steady development of China’s finance and the stability and prosperity of global finance.
Lin Xiaonie said that the connecting and hub role of Shanghai as an international financial center is becoming increasingly evident, leading to a growing demand for financial rule of law. For a long time, Shanghai courts have consistently worked to ensure high-level financial opening-up and support financial reform and innovation. Moving forward, they will further strengthen institutional supply,improve the financial legal system aligned with international standards, and enhance financial resilience through legal certainty; optimize judicial services, foster a market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment, and promote the rule of law as the “greatest common denominator” for financial opening-up and cooperation; and deepen exchanges and cooperation, promote the sharing of judicial experiences and mutual learning of rules between domestic and international legal systems, build a mutually beneficial “circle of friends” in rule of law, and contribute joint efforts to the global financial governance system.
Zhao Hong, President of the SFC; Wang Zhaohui, Deputy Deputy Chief Judge of the Second Civil Division of the SPC; Sir William Blair, Chairman of Qatar International Court Regulatory Tribunal and Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court; Masayuki Tamaruya, Professor at the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, University of Tokyo; Nicholas Calcina Howson, Professor at the University of Michigan Law School; and Song Xiaoyan, Dean and Professor of the SUFE Law School, delivered keynote speeches.
Zhao Hong shared the judicial experience of the SFC in safeguarding high-level financial opening-up from four aspects: fair adjudication, efficient procedures, accessible litigation services, and predictable judgments. She said that the SFC places great emphasis on the adjudication of typical cases, has innovated mechanisms for financial adjudication and enforcement, and has built an integrated digital court system encompassing “intelligent adjudication, intelligent management, intelligent resources, and digital courtrooms.” It has also established judicial safeguard mechanisms such as the financial market test case scheme, improved the quality and efficiency of cross-border financial dispute resolution, actively participated in the governance of international financial market rules, and supported China’s institutional opening-up in finance. Looking ahead, the SFC is willing to continue strengthening communication with all distinguished guests, build consensus, and contribute joint legal efforts to global financial prosperity and stability.
Wang Zhaohui, referencing documents including the CPC Central Committee’s Guidance on Strengthening Adjudication Work in the New Era and the Sixth Five-Year Reform Outline of the People’s Courts (2024-2028), shared the people’s courts’ approaches and measures for substantively and efficiently resolving disputes, stabilizing financial transaction expectations, and serving financial reform and opening-up. He focused on three areas: innovating financial adjudication mechanisms, strengthening the unification of judgment rules, and improving the specialized adjudication system. He said that given the rapid evolution of the financial markets and the continuous emergence of financial innovations, the next step for the SPC will involve enhancing research on financial disputes in emerging sectors, coordinating the prevention against and resolution of financial risks, and balancing financial innovation with financial security, thereby enabling more Chinese financial judicial experiences to evolve from “Chinese practice” into “international reference.”
Sir William Blair introduced the latest practices in financial adjudication in the United Kingdom and highlighted the significant role of the Financial Markets Law Committee in areas such as financial risk monitoringand analysis of financial innovation issues. He said that enhanced exchanges and discussions among global financial legal experts on cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence will further increase the certainty of market rules. The typical cases handled by the SFC, he noted, clearly elucidate to the global community the fundamental principles of Chinese law in handling financial cases. He hoped that the SFC would continue to play an important role in resolving disputes fairly and efficiently, deepening research in specialized fields, and maintaining financial market stability, while further sharing new practices and concepts of Chinese financial adjudicationwith the world.
Masayuki Tamaruyaanalyzed the development path and institutional characteristics of trust law in Asia. Unlike the division of ownership in Anglo-American law, East Asian trusts place greater emphasis on the contractual relationship between the settlor and the trustee, granting the settlor broader supervisory and revocation rights. This flexible structure has driven regional financial innovation and asset management. He also talked about the attitudes of courts in different countriestowards mandatory inheritance rules and family law constraints: Japan tends to be cautious, South Korea has relaxed restrictions on testamentary trusts, while China has promoted the improvement of the trust system through proactive regulation and judicial recognition. The localized innovations in East Asian trust law, he continued, not only reflect an institutional “return to origins” but also provide a solid legal foundation for regional financial opening-up and the modernization of the rule of law.
Nicholas Calcina Howson proposed that truthful and complete information disclosure is the cornerstone of a healthy capital market, and that effective private enforcement is a necessary supplement to public regulation. By pointing out issues in the current system, such as procedural limitations and unclear legal bases, he suggested that key concepts like “false disclosure,” “material omission,” and “important facts” should be clearly defined, standards for calculating damages should be established, and procedural provisions in the Civil Procedure Law and Criminal Procedure Law should be refined to ensure that both plaintiffs and defendants can protect their rights in accordance with the law. He concluded that improving private enforcement not only helps enhance judicial transparency and market trust but also safeguards investor rights and social stability, promoting the sustainable development of China’s capital markets along the path of the rule of law.
Song Xiaoyanoffered an in-depth analysis of the risks and regulatory issues in offshore financial markets. Using typical cases of offshore trade financing, she systematically elaborated on the importance of offshore financial markets and the transmission and impact paths of offshore financing risks to the onshore financial system. Regarding the regulatory practices for offshore accounts, she proposed strengthening regulatory measures within the existing framework, includingstrict access reviews and compliance requirements, ongoing compliance monitoring and reporting obligations, international information sharing and regulatory cooperation, and sound regulatory tools and policy systems. Only by striking a balance between robust regulation and open innovation, she emphasized, can the health and sustainable development of offshore financial markets be guaranteed.
Gu Quan, Vice President of the SFC, presided over the keynote speech session.
The forum featured in-depth discussions across three colloquiums: “Legal Needs for the Development of Digital and Technology-driven Finance,” “Cross-border Operations and Risk Management in Financial Infrastructures,” and “Construction of International Financial Centers and Investor Protection.”
Digital finance and technology-driven finance arerapidly fostering new quality productive forces, generating increased demand for regulatory frameworks and presenting novel challenges to financial justice. At the first colloquium session: “Legal Needs for the Development of Digital and Technology-driven Finance,” insights were shared by Wei Zhang, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of School of Law, Singapore Management University; Zhu Chuan,Chief Judge of the Financial Division of the Shanghai High People’s Court; Chang Ming, Assistant General Manager of Shanghai International Reinsurance Exchange; Xu Duoqi, Professor of Fudan University LawSchool; Xing Huiqiang, Professor at the Law School, Central University of Finance and Economics; Ni Shoubin, Professor at the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, Tongji University; and Qin Ce, Professor of the SUFE Law Schoolon a range of topics including digital currency regulation, the practice of “piercing-the-veil” in trials, reinsurance transactions, the regulation of high-frequency trading in securities markets, and fintech innovation. The session was chaired by Zhu Xiaozhe, Associate Dean and Professor of the SUFE Law School.
Financial infrastructures serve as the data hub and operational track, playing a key role in managing cross-border financial risks. At the second colloquium session: “Cross-border Operations and Risk Management in Financial Infrastructures,” unique insights and reflections were sharedby Robin Huang, Professor at the Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; YangZhao, Partner of the Hong Kong Office, Zhong Lun Law Firm L.L.P.; Fu Wang, Standing Member of the SFC Adjudication Committee; Yang Guang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission; Wang Haiyang, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Shanghai Futures Exchange; Zhao Lei, Research Fellow at the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Shen Wei, Professor of Koguan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong Universityon issues including the cross-border flow of financial data, cross-border bankruptcy and restructuring, the management of overseas delivery warehouses, and the development of financial arbitration systems. The session was chaired by Wu Hong,President of the Financial Law Society, Shanghai Law Society and Professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL).
Investors are participants in high-level financial opening-up. The more complex and volatile the international economic situation becomes, the greater the need for legal certainty to stabilize transaction expectations and investment confidence. At the third colloquium session: “Construction of International Financial Centers and Investor Protection,” discussions were led by Sun Qian, Deputy Chief Judge of the SFC First General Adjudication Division; Wu Minghui, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Shanghai Stock Exchange; Zhang Lei, Director of the Shanghai Zhangjiang Notary Office and Vice President of the Shanghai Notary Association; Wu Jian, Professorat the School of Economic Lawand the Vice Dean of the Graduate School,ECUPL; and Fan Jian, Associate Professor of the SUFE Law Schoolon issues including the development of securities collective action mechanisms, the practice of diversified resolution of financial disputes, challenges in the development of artificial intelligence in the financial sector, and a comparative analysis of Chinese and foreign investor protection systems. The session was chaired by Shan Suhua, Vice President of the SFC.
Professor Song Xiaoyan delivered the closing remarks.
The forum was attended by over 150 participants, including representatives from the SPC, courts at all three levels in Shanghai, procuratorial organs, arbitration and notarial institutions, the Financial Affairs Office of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, financial regulators, key financial infrastructure, eight renowned domestic universities, and media outlets.
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