The establishment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court was of great significance to Chongqing to build into a western financial center, said Wang Yuyu, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Professor of Southwest University of Political Science & Law. 

　　

　　Wang Yuyu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, professor of Southwest University of Political Science & Law. (iChongqing file photo)

　　On February 28 this year, the  Decision of Establishing the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court  was adopted at the 33rd session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress. Prof. Wang was excited at this news.

　　As the Chief Expert at Financial Rule of Law Think Tank with Chinese Characteristics, she considered that the establishment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court was strategically crucial to the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the western financial center.

　　Three “firsts”

　　“Establishing the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court in Chongqing was written in the proposal we put forward during the 2021 two sessions. It is the first financial court in western China, the first specialized court in Chongqing, and the first Chongqing court to exercise jurisdiction over (parts of) different provinces. It is significant to reduce economic development gaps between eastern and western China, facilitate high-quality economic and financial development in the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and innovate cross-regional jurisdiction and governance,” Wang stressed.

　　Chongqing can attract more financial institutions, better financial products, more state-of-the-art financial infrastructure, and more competent financial professionals with such efforts.

　　Wang explained that the type of case determines where it will be tried. In provinces/municipalities without a financial court, finance-related cases will be heard by Civil Division No. II or Financial Division.

　　However, with the establishment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court, Chongqing can solve financial disputes in a more professional and centralized manner and improve its capacity of the financial rule of law, which will boost the development of the financial market.

　　Wang said, “Shanghai has shaped a full-fledged international financial market before establishing a financial court, but it also works the other way around. With a financial court, we can reduce trade costs and help solve disputes, which is favorable to draw financial institutions, products, and talent. As a result, we are expected to develop the financial center in western China and further stimulate the high-quality of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.”

　　A new type of court

　　How to make the best use of the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court? Here are some suggestions from Wang.

　　First, Chongqing should draw on the experience of the two financial courts in Shanghai and Beijing to establish a specialized, smart, and international new type of court.

　　Second, Chongqing should highlight its role as a part of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the function of the financial center of western China.

　　For example, as the financial center of western China is to serve trade along the Belt and Road and New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court should set standards for judgment and ruling on cases related to rail waybills and consignment notes, multimodal transport documents, and other cross-border financing products of  Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway.

　　Third, Chongqing should also utilize experience in adjudicating finance-related cases and developing smart courts obtained by the city itself and Chengdu.

　　In her proposal in 2019, Wang called for the establishment of Financial Law as an independent secondary discipline of law and a key course for undergraduate students. She thought that the establishment of the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court indicated an urgent need for professionals on the financial rule of law. “To improve the society’s ability to exercise the financial rule of law and the relevant awareness, it is necessary to step up education and deepen research in this sector fundamentally.”