The Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, also known as the Guangzhou Court of International Arbitration, (GZAC) has established liaison offices in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to strengthen its service capabilities in Southeast Asia. The move follows the launch of its London hearing centre in 2025, marking another step in GZAC’s overseas expansion.
“GZAC’s establishment of the Vietnam and Singapore liaison offices reflects a deliberate strategic choice to prioritise Southeast Asia as the next frontier for GZAC’s internationalisation, with the Vietnam Liaison Office positioned as a commercial-legal hub responding to the surge in China-Vietnam trade, while the Singapore Liaison Office will serve as a strategic bridgehead, reflecting Singapore’s status as the leading arbitration hub in Southeast Asia and one of the primary destinations for Chinese companies expanding overseas,” Mark Feldman, president of the Guangzhou Court of International Arbitration, told China Business Law Journal.
“The ultimate goal for both liaison offices is to provide robust legal safeguards for high-quality China-Asean economic co-operation, empower Chinese enterprises operating abroad, and enhance GZAC’s institutional footprint in the global arbitration market.”
Feldman also serves as the interim dean and professor of law at the School of Transnational Law of Peking University.
In 2025, the GZAC accepted 877 foreign‑related cases, with the total amount in dispute reaching RMB12.3 billion (USD1.82 billion), representing a 34% year‑on‑year increase. The parties involved came from 22 countries and regions worldwide, spanning 67 jurisdictions.
Alongside the expansion of its foreignrelated caseload, GZAC has also strengthened its internal international governance structure. Of its 13 current commissioners, five are foreign nationals or from Hong Kong and Macau, accounting for nearly 40% of the total.
