The central business district of Beijing Photo: VCG

The first Global Business and Law Conference kicked off on Friday in Beijing, having gathered representatives of international organizations, foreign commerce chambers and Fortune Global 500 enterprises, as well as global experts in law.

Legal protection is an important part of trade and investment, participants noted at the conference, and the event showcases China's commitment to constant improvement of its business environment, including strengthening protection for foreign investment.

The conference has the aim of implementing the concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in global governance, as well as fostering an international business environment that is conducive to mutual openness, common development, fairness, justice and stability.

The conference will also focus on reform and construction of the global economic governance system, intellectual property rights enabling global innovation and development, and the settlement of diversified international commercial disputes.

In recent years, the Chinese government has formulated important safeguards for investment, such as the Foreign Investment Law. China also accelerated the improvement of laws and regulations that are compatible with opening-up, Cai Dafeng, vice chairman of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee, said at the opening ceremony of the conference.

At the same time, China has actively participated in leading multilateral and regional economic and trade negotiations, adhered to the rule of law, and jointly solved the problems facing international trade and investment, said Cai.

"We should cherish solidarity, cooperation, openness and shared peace, strive to further expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and give play to the important role of the rule of law in global governance, especially at a time when the world is facing severe challenges such as climate change, inflation, food crises and energy crises," Cai noted.

Cai also called for participants at the conference to consider the role of law in high-quality development of international trade and investment.

The rule of law is very important, and both domestic and international enterprises should be governed according to the law, so close attention is needed to maintain a trading environment governed by the rule of law, Shoichi Okuyama, president of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), said at the conference.

"We are also looking forward to the 2024 AIPPI World Congress that will be held in [East] China's Hangzhou. We are honored to co-host this conference with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). This will be the first time that the AIPPI World Congress will be held in China," said Okuyama.

International law is the basic foundation for international trade and investment, Marcelo Vázquez Bermúdez, first chairman of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, said when addressing the conference on Friday.

"Peaceful cooperation can promote friendly relations, political and economic cooperation and increase confidence in international trade in goods and services and in international investment. Our commission is committed to continuing to contribute to strengthening the rule of law at the international level," he said.

Ren Hongbin, chairman of the CCPIT, called on all countries to deepen exchanges on international law and promote global business cooperation at the opening ceremony.

"We call on all countries to strengthen multilateral and bilateral dialogue on the rule of law, establish and build exchange mechanisms between the business and legal sectors, and provide stability for enterprises," said Ren.

During the conference, the "Beijing Initiative of Global Business and Law Conference" was also unveiled by Ren. The initiative calls on the business and legal communities of all countries to focus on reform and innovation cooperation and boost global economic recovery and rule of law development.

Building an open business environment that is conducive to justice and stable order is a commitment for China. It has implemented a series of policies to optimize its business environment for foreign enterprises, which is in line with the country's commitment to high-standard opening-up.

The State Council, China's cabinet, in August issued a 24-point guideline covering six areas to improve the climate for foreign investment and attract more funds, which was hailed by many foreign commerce chambers in China.

Earlier in June, Chinese customs launched 16 initiatives to optimize the country's business environment, including improvement in the efficiency of cross-border logistics, upgrading of trade processing, and optimization of the supervision of border trade.

As a result of constant efforts, China remains one of the most attractive investment destinations globally.

In 2022, China's actual use of foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled $189.1 billion, up 8 percent year-on-year. Its share of global FDI rose from 8.2 percent in 2012 to 14.6 percent in 2022, according to official statistics.