On 29 August 2023, the signing ceremony of MOU between Shanghai Commercial Mediation Center (SCMC) and Israel Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) was successfully held online. Ms. Ravit Baer, Consul General of Israel in Shanghai, attended the ceremony online and delivered a speech. Ms. Wei Zhang, director of SCMC, and Mr. Gideon Fisher of CRC, signed the MOU. The ceremony was moderated by Ms. Michelle Tzhori, the Israeli mediator of SCMC.

SCMC and CRC signed the MOU

Consul General Ms. Baer first expressed her warm congratulations on the cooperation between SCMC and CRC. She said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel 30 years ago, the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has continued to deepen. China’s exports to Israel and Israel’s exports to China have maintained the momentum of “two-way growth”. Enterprises from the two countries thus have an increasingly stronger demand for efficient and friendly dispute resolution mechanism. SCMC and CRC, as the representative dispute resolution organisations in China and Israel, cooperate innovatively in international commercial dispute resolution to help maintain the healthy development of bilateral trade relations in a soft and non-confrontational manner, which will contribute to the broader and deeper exchanges between the two countries.

Ms. Baer delivered an online speech

Ms. Wei Zhang, director of SCMC, said that SCMC has always aimed at serving the high-quality development of China’s economy and high-standard opening-up. SCMC has been deeply involved in the field of commercial mediation for more than a decade, becoming an influential,  professional and international commercial mediation organization in China. SCMC is one of the first batch of organizations to be included in the China’s Supreme Court’s “one-stop” platform for the alternative resolution of international commercial disputes. It has established cooperative relationships with international counterparts in more than 20 countries and regions around the globe, and has taken the lead in establishing 3 overseas service stations in Europe and Asia, covering China’s major trading partners. It has provided communication channels and dispute resolution convenience for Chinese enterprises to “go out” and foreign enterprises to “come in”. The cooperation between SCMC and CRC is of great strategic significance from the perspective of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, and hopes to further promote the prosperous development of economic and trade exchanges between China and Israel.

Ms. Wei Zhang delivered an online speech

Mr. Gideon Fisher of CRC, said in his speech that under the leadership of senior judges (ret), CRC was initiated by leading Israeli business associations, officially established in October 2019, headquartered in Tel Aviv. CRC now provides comprehensive mediation and arbitration services by renowned retired judges, professional lawyers, and industry experts. According to this newly signed MOU, under the principle of mutual benefit and trust, CRC will work with SCMC to promote a better development of international commercial mediation in China and Israel, jointly conduct publicity activities, jointly provide training courses, and further explore the co-mediation mechanism.

Mr. Gideon Fisher delivered an online speech

The ceremony was witnessed online by Mr. Gideon Ginat, former vice president of Tel Aviv District Court of Israel, retired Judge Dr. Abraham Tennenbaum, Mr. Yuval Kaplinsky, Former Director of the Department of International Affairs in Israel’s Justice Ministry and the heads of relevant departments of SCMC and CRC. 

Online attendees of the ceremony