Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng today led a delegation to Shanghai to promote Hong Kong's co-operation with Mainland legal sectors.

In the morning, Ms Cheng met Shanghai Vice-Mayor Xu Kunlin to update him on Hong Kong’s legal services, while legal and dispute resolution practitioners from Hong Kong exchanged views with Shanghai government officials at the meeting.

Afterwards, they met Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice Director Lu Weidong and Shanghai Bar Association representatives.

The meeting was held to follow up on issues relating to the co-operation arrangement on legal matters signed last year between the Hong Kong Government’s Department of Justice and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice.

In the afternoon, the group called on Shanghai Maritime Court President Wang Tong to learn about the latest developments of the maritime court’s judicial artificial intelligence.

They then visited the Court of Arbitration for Sport Shanghai Alternative Hearing Centre to meet with its Commissioner Chen Yiping.

They also met China Shipowners’ Association Executive Vice-President Zhang Shouguo, and China Classification Society Shanghai Branch Director Meng Lingyi.

Ms Cheng gave an update on Hong Kong’s developments as a major centre for maritime law and dispute resolution services, adding that the Department of Justice has been promoting maritime arbitration in Hong Kong.

She and the practitioners encouraged stakeholders to choose the law of Hong Kong as the applicable law and as the place for arbitral proceedings.