Introduction

In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) in an attempt to carry on the Silk Road spirit, co-build an open platform for cooperation with all countries and generate new driving forces for the development of all countries. Over the past eight years, 140 countries and 32 international organizations have joined in Belt and Road cooperation. The BRI has evolved from a concept and vision into real actions and reality, and brought about enormous opportunities and benefits to countries around the world. In the face of the test posed by the pandemic and the overlay challenges of global governance, the BRI has shown strong resilience and vitality, with relevant projects continuing to advance, cooperation yielding many fruits, and trade and investment keeping growth against headwinds. Standing at a new starting point in history, China will bring about new opportunities in the market, investment and growth for Belt and Road partners. It is a realistic requirement to build an world-class legal and commercial service system and an inherent need to strengthen the strategic positioning of Beijing as the national capital.

Belt and Road Service Connections (BNRSC), initiated by DeHeng Law Offices, launched and established jointly by China Association for The Promotion of Development Financing(CAPDF), Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce, CBA Studio Legale e Tributario, etc, is an international resource integration platform, focusing on the project matchmaking and professional legal services of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). The BNRSC is composed of lawyers, accountants, tax agents, appraisers, financial institutions, information consulting agencies, notaries, intellectual property agencies, chambers of commerce, and other professional service agencies in countries along the BRI, with regards to information sharing on policies, research, projects, and services.

Beijing Retio Legal and Commercial Service Center for BRI (Beijing Retio Center) is duly registered as a social service institution at Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs by BNRSC. Its mediation center – the International Commercial Mediation Center for BRI(BNRMC) is the sub-project unit of the diversified dispute settlement mechanism under the Supreme People's Court Judicial Reform Office. In 2020, Beijing Retio Center has been promoted by Ministry of Commerce of PRC as one of the best platforms in the cooperation for BRI. Based on the principles of public welfare, neutrality and professionalism, BNRMC aims to assist the parties involved in disputes to resolve domestic and foreign civil and commercial disputes through mediation.

BRI Legal and Commercial Service Innovation Platform, a new type of legal and commercial innovation service ecosystem, was initiated by Beijing Retio Center and approved by   the Beijing Leading Group for the Promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative Office on September 5th, 2021. The Platform focus on optimizing the functions of commercial mediation, project financing, think-tank, academician services, legal identification, further gathering domestic and foreign legal, commercial, financial, intellectual and technological professionals, chambers of commerce and experts and jointly pursuing the contribution of global service capacity into the BRI service platform in Beijing, to create a shared and cooperative global brand on the BRI legal and commercial service.  

Financial Innovation Service Thinktank(FIST), initiated by Beijing Retio Center, is an unique community consisting of the leading worldwide professionals, scholars, market experts, lawyers and law firms to serve as the communication channel and have discussions on the impact upon the financial system and rules by the fast growing new technologies, social, environmental and economical changes, aiming to mitigate risks and strength the international governance to safeguard ESG practices and the rule of law. FLA was started at the Annual conference of Financial Street Forum 2021 on October 20, 2021, idealized to promote international legal cooperation for preventing and defusing emerging financial risks, by actively participating in the reform and construction of a global financial governance system.