Summary of the Fifth Term of Office of the Chairman-in-Office of the

Permanent Forum of China Construction Law

Dear members, observer representatives,

Good afternoon.
On behalf of Mr. WANG Tianxi, Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Arbitration
Commission, the fifth Chairman-in-Office of the Permanent Forum, and Yu Tao,
Deputy Secretary-General of the Shijiazhuang Arbitration Commission, I would like
to report to you all on the work carried out during the current term of office. The work
during this term of office can be divided into eight aspects as follows.
(i) The Completion of the 13th, 15th and 16th Working Group Research
Project
The 13th Working Group has completed the book of Guidelines for Adjudication
of Construction Insurance Agreements Disputes (the “Guidelines”) over the last one
and a half years. As a piece of work of over 350,000 words, the Guidelines is
comprised of 83 articles and their corresponding interpretations. It serves as guidance
for adjudication of disputes arising out of four major types of insurance, namely,
construction all risks insurance, engineering insurance, Potential Defects Insurance,
and engineering liability insurance. We are proud to announce that the working
products of the 13th Working Group are unparalleled and ground-breaking in the field
of construction insurance law. They will play the role of a beacon thus giving a great
impetus to the practices in litigation and arbitration over construction insurance
disputes. The credits must be given to the convenors of the 13 th Working Group, Ms.
ZHANG Xiaoxia and Ms. LI Qi, the rest 19 members and the two secretaries of the
Working Group, for their painstaking efforts and tremendous contribution. We would
also like to thank the two Deputy Secretaries-General, Mr. ZHANG Haoliang and Mr.
HUANG Zhenyu, who were responsible for supervising the research progress of the
Working Group.
The achievement by the 15th Working Group was two quality pieces of
translation – ICCA Drafting Sourcebook for Logistical Matters in Procedural Orders
and Dispute Board Manual: A Guide to Best Practices and Procedures. The
convenors are Mr. XU Zhihe and Mr. LI Zhiyong respectively. The two working
products not only introduced into China the cutting-edge practice of international
commercial arbitration and the procedures of Dispute Resolution Board over
construction disputes, but also serve as a model of future cooperation between the
Permanent Forum, ICCA and DRBF. It is important to note that all members of the
fifteenth Working Group XV are from the cadre of international arbitration
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institutions. It also demonstrates the professionalism of the arbitration institutions in
working together on the Permanent Forum platform to promote the development of
construction arbitration in China. We are grateful to the two convenors and the ten
members of the Working Group.
The 16th Working Group has been preparing for nearly a year for the debut of the
Guidelines for Adjudication of Quality Disputes in Construction Projects. The
Guideline is a heavy piece of work consisting of 700,000 words. It can be divided into
two volumes, with 19 chapters and three appendices. The working product of the 16 th
Working Group is the largest research project in scale after the Interpretation and
Practical Guidance of the Provisions of Chinese Construction Law by the 8th Working
Group. Quality disputes are heatedly debated and an everlasting difficulty in the field
of construction. The systematic, practical and forward-looking nature of the working
products by the 16th Working Group will certainly make it a treasure for judicial and
arbitration practice. During the progress of the 16 th Working Group, in spite of the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, three in-person working sessions were held in
Shanghai, Ningbo and Nanning, and more than thirty online working sessions were
organized. All of these demonstrated a sense of diligence and productivity. Sincere
thanks to the convenors of the 16th Working Group, Mr. ZHOU Liming and Mr. XIE
You, as well as the twenty-nine members and the two secretaries of the Working
Group. We are also grateful to the supervisor of the 16 th Working Group, Deputy
Secretary General Mr. JIANG Lan.
We would also like to thank the Subject Matter Committee led by Professor HE
Hongfeng and Mr. CHEN Min for organising the discussion, gate-keeping and
admission for the above working groups at the very crucial stage.
The campaign to promote the working products of the Permanent Forum
unfortunately did not move forward as originally planned because of the pandemic. I
am sure that this work will be carried out with great enthusiasm during the sixth term
of the office.
(ii) The on-going Permanent Forum Academy flagship training programme
Training and supplying to the community arbitrators who excel at construction
disputes serve as a significant move to guarantee the further development of
construction arbitration. In the first half of 2022, after the successful launch of the
first phase, the Forum Academy commenced the second phase of the Advanced
Course for Arbitrators in Construction Disputes (the “Second Course”).
The Second Course continues to be co-organised by the Permanent Forum and
the China Society of Arbitration Law and PKU Law, with the joint participation of a

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number of leading domestic arbitration institutions. The Second Course took up the
characteristics of the first one, being a small-scale in-person seminar taught in a
scenario-based fashion, with an emphasis on sharing the experience of arbitration
institutions. More than ten lecturers were arranged at each stop, who are mainly
members of the Permanent Forum Chairs’ Meeting and the Secretary-General’s
Meeting, and authoritative practitioners who were invited to participate in the course
considering their expertise in certain areas of law. During the course, participants are
encouraged to actively involve themselves in the discussion and gain practical
improvement through mock trials.
From April to June 2022, the tutors and outstanding participants of the First
Course from the Forum Academy optimised the teaching materials. The whole
structure of the materials was re-organised, tailored to the specific arbitration
process ， with a further refined timeline, highlighted key points, and addition of
relevant cases on the latest hotspots. During the same period, the enrolment, interview
and selection of participants for the second course were conducted.
The first stop of the second course was held at the Nanjing Arbitration
Commission on 30 and 31 July 2022. Mr. LI Hua, full-time Deputy Director and
Secretary General of the Nanjing Arbitration Commission, delivered an opening
speech. Mr. WANG Tianxi, the rotating Chair of the Permanent Forum, Mr. YU Tao
and Mr. ZHANG Guanghong, the Vice-Chairs, and experts Dr. FAN Mingchao, Dr.
YAO Hongmin and Mr. CUI Xinmin gave lessons for the course.
The second stop of the second course was held at CIETAC Shandong Branch on
27 August 2022. Mr. XIE Changqing, Vice President of the CIETAC Arbitration Court
and Secretary General of the Shandong Branch, delivered an opening speech, and the
experts Mr. WANG Hongsong, Mr. HE Naigang and Mr. Cui Xinmin, as well as the
Secretary General of the Forum, Mr. SUN Wei and Mr. JIA Shen, Deputy Secretary
General HUANG Guoyong and OUYANG Jinying gave lessons for the course.
Due to the pandemic, the courses at the third and fourth stops scheduled in
Dalian and Shenzhen did not went on as planned. Considering the current situation, it
is proposed to restart the second advanced course at the end of February 2023.
The Permanent Forum Academy has a heavy training schedule with a number of
courses and logistical details to arrange. Sincere thanks to the three Associate Deans
of the Permanent Forum Academy, Xu Qianqian, Li Yu and Zhu Yongchao, and to all
the tutors involved in delivering the courses.
(iii) Abundant international cooperation
The results of international cooperation during the current term are reflected in
three main aspects.
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 On 13 July 2022, Mr Quan Huimin, President of the Singapore International
Mediation Centre (SIMC), and Ms Huang Caiyi, Director of SIMC, delivered a
training session on the topic of New Developments in International Commercial
Mediation in Construction Dispute Resolution. The participants were briefed on the
operation of cross-border commercial mediation in construction dispute resolution
and how it complements arbitration and litigation, as well as how the value of
commercial mediation can be realised through the existing judicial mechanism under
the Singapore Mediation Convention.
Secondly, we have strengthened our cooperation with the International Council
for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) by having the 15 th Working Group translate its
ICCA Drafting Sourcebook for Logistical Matters in Procedural Orders. Our
translation has been submitted to the International Council for Commercial
Arbitration and will become its official Chinese version. This is our second
cooperation with the ICCA, following Risks and Practical Responses on Overseas
Contracting Operations for Chinese Enterprises by the 6th Working Group.
The third is the translation of the DRBF’s Dispute Board Manual: A Guide to
Best Practices and Procedures, the outcome of which will become the DRBF’s
official Chinese version. This is our first collaboration with the DRBF and has been a
boost to the Memorandum of Cooperation to be signed now. We would like to thank
Mr Li Zhiyong for his contribution in bringing the Permanent Forum and DRBF
together.
(iv) The First National Construction Appraisers Conference was held
In order to promote the sound development of construction appraisals, after
seven months of preparation and with the full support of the Shanghai Arbitration
Commission and the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration
Commission, the first National Conference of Appraisers was held on 19 and 20
November 2022 during the Shanghai Arbitration Week as a sub-forum of the Week.
The first National Construction Appraisers Conference consisted of a closed-door
seminar and a launching conference on research results. The closed-door seminar was
held in the afternoon of 19 November at the Shanghai Arbitration Commission and
was conducted in the manner of three simultaneous sessions by the Cost Appraisal
Research Group, the Quality Appraisal Research Group and the Delay Appraisal
Research Group. Over 50 experts from the research team and many colleagues from
the Shanghai Arbitration Commission participated in the seminar and provided
valuable comments and suggestions on the research report, laying a solid foundation
for further research. The launching conference was held in the morning of 20

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November at the Shanghai International Dispute Resolution Centre and was broadcast
live with over 18,000 audiences.
The preparatory team for the conference organised five research groups to
conduct research via questionnaires, interviews and surveys on engineering cost
appraisal, quality appraisal, delay appraisal, international engineering expert
witnesses and litigation appraisal procedures, etc. After six months of preliminary
research, the first draft of the research report was produced. Utilising this opportunity,
construction engineering dispute appraisers were connected more closely thus
strengthening the collaboration and communication among appraisal working parties
such as adjudication authorities, appraisal institutions and the legal professions. The
first Construction Appraisers Conference and its outcome is undoubtedly an initiative
and a pioneer for the construction engineering appraisal industry in China. It will also
become an annual brand event of the Permanent Forum. I would like to thank all the
members of the preparatory team and the research team, with Ms ZHANG Xiaoxia as
the convenor, for their hard work and efforts.
(v) The Permanent Forum continues to grow and expand
During the current term, the number of Permanent Forum observer units grew
from 386 to 414, the number of observer representatives increased from 454 to 487
and the number of member units increased from 35 to 36. Thanks to Mr. YUAN
Haibing and Mr. WANG Feng, Chairs of the Observer Committee, and the eight
members of the Observer Committee. We not only produced high quality research
results, but also nurtured and brought new talent to light through research, training
and various activities. After half a decade, the Permanent Forum has become a public-
interest, nationwide platform for the exchange of construction-law-related experiences
aiming at promoting the sound environment of construction engineering legal career
in China.
(vi) The development of the Permanent Forum was boosted by branding
efforts
During its current term, the Branding and Communications Committee has
published 38 news and announcements, with 51,727 news reads. Behind each of these
news and announcements are the persistent efforts of the members and editors of the
Branding Committee. The work of the Committee has made the achievements and
activities of the Permanent Forum more widely known and attracted more industry
professionals to join the Permanent Forum. We would like to thank and salute all the
members of the Committee: Ms. ZHANG Xiaoxia, LI Yu, ZHU Yongchao, ZHOU
Liming, ZHOU Miaomiao and WANG Xinyi.

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 (vii) The innovative arrangement of having two rotating Vice-Chairpersons
to facilitate the work of the Permanent Forum
The double vice-chairmanship is a rewarding experiment during this term. We
are honoured to form the Presidency with Deputy Secretary General SHI Zhanhui
from the Nanjing Arbitration Commission and Vice President Mr. ZHANG Wenguang
from the Dalian International Arbitration Institute to advance the work of the
Permanent Forum. At the Nanjing stop of the Permanent Forum, Deputy Chairperson
Mr. Shi Zhanhui was involved throughout the entire process, providing strong,
thoughtful and meticulous logistical support for the Nanjing stop. During the planning
of the Dalian stop, Vice-Chairperson ZHANG Wenguang personally coordinated the
venue, accommodation and other arrangements. Our two rotating Deputy Secretaries-
General were also fully engaged during their term of office and were perfectly
integrated into the efficient and high-quality work of the Secretary-General’s Meeting
of the Permanent Forum. Deputy Secretary General Mr. DONG Liming participated
in the interviews of the applicants of the second course of the Permanent Forum
Academy and assisted the participants in organising the training in Nanjing. Deputy
Secretary General Mr. ZHANG Shu was the final reviewer of all press releases for the
Branding Committee and the final gatekeeper of the approval process for the Observer
Committee. Sincere thanks to the two Chairs-in-Office and the two Deputy
Secretaries-General.
(viii) Effective operation of the day-to-day management mechanism of the
Forum
First, a mechanism of regular monthly working meetings of the Secretary-
General was established. During the current term of office, the Secretary-General’s
Meeting has established the mechanism of regular monthly working meetings, i.e., all
members of the Secretary-General’s Meeting and the convenors of relevant working
groups, heads of preparatory teams and relevant heads of bodies under the Permanent
Forum communicate, discuss, and deploy on the progress of work on a monthly basis.
The minutes of the meetings are submitted to the Chairpersons’ meeting for review.
This regular meeting mechanism ensures that the work of the Permanent Forum is
carried out in an orderly manner.
Secondly, the evaluation mechanism prior to the appointment of personnel
continued to be practised. During the current term, the evaluation committee has
continued its practice of conducting background checks and evaluations of proposed
appointees for appointments to committees, faculties and working groups under the
Permanent Forum. Thanks to Mr. TANG Shiliang for the outstanding work of the

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Evaluation Committee.
Thirdly, the mechanism of scrutinise the results of working groups is strictly
implemented. All working group results must be approved by the Subject Matter
Committee.
Dear members of the Forum, much work has been done and much has been
achieved during the term of office of the fifth Presidency of the Permanent
Forum. We sincerely thank you all for your support during this special year and
pass the baton to the three rotating Chairs, Weijun Wei, Chunwei and
Guanghong. We believe that under their leadership, the next term of the
Permanent Construction Forum Presidency will yield even more exciting and
brilliant results!

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