Beijing's court handles 4,000 disputes involving overseas residents

Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court handled more than 4,000 disputes involving litigants from foreign countries, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan over the past five years, witnessing an increasing proportion of new types of cases.

The court released the number in a report on Monday, showing that the new types of lawsuits mainly covered artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, telecom fraud, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency, posing challenges to judges.

To ensure a more professional handling of such cases related to emerging areas, the court said that it selected experienced judges and involved people's assessors with relevant industrial backgrounds to participate in the proceedings.

"We also held seminars where we invited national lawmakers, political advisers, enterprise representatives, and experts to jointly discuss legal issues behind the cases," it added.

Additionally, in response to frequent disputes such as those on sales contracts, intellectual property and employment, the court noted that it organized senior judges to compile guidelines to clarify the trial approach, standards for evidence collection and law application, providing specific guidance for other judges in relevant case handling.

Greater efforts have also been invested in educating legal talent, it said.

According to the report, the cases concluded by the court from 2020 to 2024 involved more than 60 countries and regions. In 2024, for example, the nation and region with the largest number of disputes was the United States, followed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Canada.

The report noted that handling such a large number of cases is related to the location and positioning of the district. As the capital's important gateway to the outside world, Chaoyang has attracted more overseas residents to settle and work, and seen numerous foreign-funded enterprises expanding their businesses here.

Furthermore, this trend is also connected to China's continuous advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, forwarded by its central leadership in 2013, and the deepening global internationalization, the report said.